niti 



h \ 




flf«ucY 



OtpartiBetit U®r* 









if? 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME THE FIRST. 



FRANCE 



Historical Summaiy of the Government of 
blishment of the Monarchy to the Re 
§ ] . Government of Roman Gaul, 
§ 2. Of the Franks before the conquest, 
§ 3. Conquest of Gaul by the Franks, 
§ 4. Of the Regal Power, 
§ 5. The Salic Laws 
§ 6. Servitude, 
§ 7. Vassalage, 
§ 8. Fiefs, . 
§ 9. Justice, 
§ 10. The Clergy, 
§11. National Assemblies; 
§ 12. Of the Mayors, 
§ 13. Charles Martel, 
$ 14. Pepin-le-Bref, 
§ 15. Charlemagne, 
§ 16. Capitularies, 
§ 17. Charles the Bold, 
§ IS. Hugh Capet, 
§ 19. Feudal Government 
§ 20. The Church, 
§ 21. Communes, . 
§ 22. Philip Augustus, 
§ 23. Peers, . 
§ 24. St. Louis, 
§ 25, Philip the Fair, 
§ 26. The Parliament, 
§ 27. The States-General 



ranee, from the esta 
olution of 1789, 



Page 

I 
2 
5 
6 
9 
12 
14 
16 
18 
23 
26 
27 
29 
30 
31 
33 
36 
37 
38 
40 
42 
43 
45 
46 
50 
51 
52 
54 



\^n^ 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Page 

Constitutive Laws of the United Provinces . . : . 457 

Act of Union of the United Provinces, concluded at Utrecht, the 
23d of January, 1579 .... 

Constitution of the United Provinces 

Revolution of 1795 

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of a Citizen 

Establishment of the Batavian Republic . 

Constitution of 1801 

Constitution of 1801 modified. The executive power vested in a 
grand pensionary. Establishment of the kingdom of Hol- 
land under Louis Bonaparte 510 

Treaty between the Batavian Republic and the Emperor of the 
French, for establishing the kingdom of Holland, May 24, 
1806 513 

Proclamation of Louis Bonaparte, made in Holland, June 9, 1806 516 

Constitutional Laws 51 S 

Establishment of the kingdom of the Netherlands . . . 522 

Report presented to the King by the Commission charged with 

revising the Fundamental Law of the United Netherlands ib. 

Fundamental Law of the kingdom of the Netherlands . . 541 



FRANCE. 



HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF 
FRANCE, FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
MONARCHY TO THE REVOLUTION OF 17S9. 



W HAT we chiefly have in view in the following pages is, 
to collect the principal points in that part of our national 
history which, although the most important, has the least 
occupied the attention of our historians. Without entering 
into useless and fatiguing discussions, which would only 
tend to interrupt the series of circumstances we mean to 
describe, it will be our object to present the reader, in as con- 
cise and clear a form as possible, with the various changes 
which have occurred in the political state of the monarchy, 
from the period of its establishment to that of the revolution 
which overthrew it. A work of this kind cannot fail to be 
interesting. It will serve to correct the misrepresentations 
of prejudice, by throwing a new light on the principles and 
truths it has so constantly perverted. It will present our 
history in a point of view, more elevated and more worthy 
the people who are the subject of it. Above all, it will have 
this great and desirable end, so justly described as the most 
essential in our present circumstances, " of binding the re- 
" collections of the past to the hopes of the future, by re« 

Vol. I. r 



^ GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

" storing the chain of past and present times*;" and thus, 
perhaps, of lessening the distance which intervenes between 
generations, of sentiments so opposite. 

■ '§ 1 » Government of Roman Gaul. 

We shall commence this summary by considering, on the 
one hand, the situation of Gaul under the Roman govern- 
ment ; and, on the other, the state of federation which 
existed among the German nations, known under the name 
of Franks, before their conquest of the Gallic territory. 
The government of France arose from the blending together 
the laws and institutions of these two political societies, 
just as the mixture of the two races formed the French 
nation; and hence, in investigating the origin of the early 
establishments of our monarchy, and the materials of its 
constitution, we are bound to consider the laws and institu- 
tions peculiar to each people. A few concise and appro- 
priate observations on this subject, will do much towards 
clearing up the confusion in which the early history of our 
country is involved. 

It is not here our design to follow the Gauls through the 
course of that gradual metamorphosis, which the Romans 
wrought upon them after having conquered their territory ; 
but merely to view them as they appeared at the period of 
the second conquest, effected by the German tribes, that is, 
in the fifth century. The Abbe Dubosf has asserted, that 
there were then no longer Gauls in Gaul ; in other words, that 
they had become complete Romans. They had adopted the 
manners, customs, games, costume, and language of their 
vanquishers— in fact, every thing. From the moment that 
Caracalla proclaimed all the inhabitants of the provinces 
Roman citizens, the differences which time had yet left 
subsisting, gradually disappeared; above all, the intermar- 
riages of the two nations tended to produce a complete 
mixture. No distinction any longer subsisted between the 
* Preamble to the Charter. *r Establishment of the Franks in the Gauls. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 3 

families which had originallyintroduced the toga into Gaul 
and those which had adopted it ; the most illustrious of 
both classes attained indiscriminately to the dignities of the 
empire. It was necessary to determine this point, that the 
terms Gaul and Roman may henceforth lead to no confusion. 
At this period, then, we are understood to speak of one and 
the same people. 

The great magistracies established in the Gauls by the 
emperors, are no farther interesting to our subject, than, 
inasmuch as the barbarian chiefs availed themselves of 
these vain titles to support their authority over those whom 
they had conquered. Neither must we form our estimate 
of regal power in that remote age, according to modern 
ideas. The only sceptres in the eyes of the people, then 
known, were those of Rome and Constantinople. The vicar - 
general, or prefect, who commanded in Gaul, nay even 
the rector, who governed one of the seventeen provinces, ap- 
peared to the people a very different personage from the 
barbarian prince, whose long hair formed the sole trait of 
majesty. All the feeble instruments of imperial power 
successively disappeared before the sword of the invaders ; 
but these soon felt that, to govern firmly what yet survived, 
it was necessary to place themselves in the offices to which 
the people had contracted habits of submission # . Hence, 
while the chiefs received, or took, the insignia of patricians 
or consuls, their principal lieutenants were seen replacing, 
under the name of dukes, those generals {duces) established 

~* The policy of the emperors seconded that which is here attributed to 
the barbarian chiefs. They sought to conciliate those whom they were 
unable to conquer. Clovis, firmly settled in the Gauls, and rendered yet more 
potent by his success over the other barbarous nations which had established 
themselves before him, received in the year 508 an embassy from Anasta- 
sius, who then occupied the throne of Constantine. He was honoured by 
the titles of patrician and consul, and decorated with the insignia of those 
high dignities. Assuming the appellation of Augustus, we find, from some 
medals or gold coins of Childebert and Theodebert, that it was even borne 
by his successors. 

B 2 



4 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

by the emperors in the provinces; others succeeding as 
counts to those comites, who presided over the cities, fyc. 

And here occurs a very important observation on the 
military establishments of the emperors. The difficulty of 
marching troops to the frontiers, sometimes simultaneously 
attacked by the barbarians, had given rise to the creation of 
a peculiar kind of military, permanently fixed in a particular 
province, and expressly charged with defending its bound- 
aries. Lands were distributed to these soldiers ; they were 
permitted to marry, and to bequeath their possessions to their 
children ; but on condition that these discharged the same mi- 
litary service, of which the grant had been the recompense. 
Lands possessed by this title are generally denominated 
military benefices. We may here perceive the origin of fiefs. 

Each province of Gaul was divided into districts or cities. 
Each city regulated its own affairs, under the high autho- 
rity of the emperor's officers. It had its senate, curia*, 
troops, and revenues. These cities, in fact, resembled, but 
in a higher and more liberal degree, those communes which 
we shall see at first disappearing amidst the evils which 
followed the conquest, and afterwards reviving, as succes- 
sively wrested from the sword of the conquerors, by the 
efforts of the people, and the protecting sceptre of kings. 
The Gauls were freemen, or slaves. The freemen were 
ranged under three classes : first, the senatorial families, 
which enjoyed certain prerogatives, but, like the rest of the 
community, were subject to taxation; secondly, the curial 
families, in which were placed all those who possessed 
landed property, who exercised no business, and who had a 
right to form part of the curia; thirdly, families which 
supported themselves by their industry, and were connected 
together by corporations of crafts. 

Slaves were of two kinds ; one, attached to a master who 

* The curia, it would appear, was to the canton (pagus) what the se- 
nate was to the city (civitas). 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 5 

maintained them ; the other, to the lands which they tilled, 
and of which they enjoyed the produce, subject to a certain 
rent*. There were also freemen, who held and cultivated 
lands by the same title. 

§ 2. Of the Franks before the Conquest. 

The state of the Franks in Germany, compared with that 
of the people we have just described, affords a striking con- 
trast. On the one hand, are seen all the results of advanced 
civilization ; on the other, nature in all her pristine rude- 
ness. Here reign laws, institutions, and the arts, with loss 
of freedom ; there, a few confused usages, ferocious man- 
ners, and arms, with liberty. 

The Franks were Germans f. The traits of character by 
which the ancients have described these last, ought then to 

* The distinctions in the rank of slaves were various ; but the most 
general were those of the ad* yriptitii and the coloni. Both were attached 
to the soil, but the lot of the former was the most severe. The portion of 
produce, which they were obliged to pay, was regulated at the will of the 
master ; and their children followed the condition of the mother. The co- 
loni, that is, such of them as were slaves, for there were freemen of the 
same name, enjoyed a few privileges ; their children followed the condi- 
tion of the father, and the returns they owed, were fixed ; they could, 
besides, have recourse to the laws, when oppressed. For more on this 
subject, see UEtat Civil des Pe?'sonnes, §c. dans les Gaules. lib. 2, c. 5. 

t The Franks, a people of Germany, are mentioned, for the first time, 
in history, in the reign of Valerian, when Aurelian (afterwards emperor) 
gained a victory over them. The Bructeri, the Catti, the Chamavi, An- 
sivarii, and several other nations, inhabiting that extensive tract of country 
lying between the ocean, the rivers Elbe, Maine, and Lower Rhine, were 
comprised under the general name of Franks. In the reign of Theodo- 
sius, the country on the German bank of the Rhine, from Cologne to Ni- 
meguen, was called by its inhabitants, France. Some historians date the 
foundation of the French monarchy, from the year 421, when Pharamond 
began his reign over this last mentioned district. The seat of his govern- 
ment, as well as that of his successors, Clodion, Meroveus, and Childeric, 
according to Father Daniel, lay on the German side of the Rhine ; though 
the discovery of the tomb and skeleton of Childeric, father of Clovis, at 
Tournay, added to other circumstances, seems to warrant some writers in 
supposing, that the Franks, before the final invasion of Gaul by Clovis, 
had already established it on this side that river. 



G GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

guide us in describing the Franks themselves. We com- 
prehend, under this denomination, several petty states, 
united to each other by the tradition of a common origin, 
and continually experiencing the necessity of joining their 
strength, both for attack and defence. Beyond this, there 
does not appear to have prevailed among them any kind of 
federal compact, formally expressed; but the custom of 
holding annual assemblies, in which the nation deliberated 
on affairs of general concern, was one which, doubtless, 
mounted up to the union of the first families. These were 
the famous assemblies which form the first point in the his- 
tory of our liberties; and it is a circumstance remarkable 
enough, that the two principal materials which compose 
the ground- work of our national edifice, are discovered, 
one, the communes, in the institutions of the Romans, 
the other, representative bodies, in the German establish- 
ments. 

Among the Franks, valour was the principal thing held 
in estimation ; and the punishment of cowardice, among 
the chief ends of law. When engaged in hostilities, they 
followed chieftains, whose most important prerogative con- 
sisted in their being entitled to a larger share of the booty 
taken from the enemy. Their youth were taught the dex- 
terous use of the battle-axe, and to arts of this kind was 
their education limited. A society thus constituted, in 
which strength and violence were all-predominant, could 
subsist only so long as its most turbulent members were 
engaged in war ; and hence, from the time they appeared 
on the northern frontiers of the empire, to their invasion of 
Gaul, every year was marked by new aggressions, and fresh 
acts of rapine. 

§ 3. Conquest of Gaul by the Franks. 

On this subject it behoves us to guard against the spirit 
of system, and consequently to avoid imitating most of the 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. / 

writers who have made the political situation of the country 
at the conquest, an object of their research. Almost all, 
indeed, strangely perverting the sense of a few passages, 
have established hypotheses, of a more or less specious cast, 
but in which we find only a few truths in the midst of as- 
sertions manifestly erroneous. According to one author, 
for example, the conquerors sat down peaceably in the 
ranks of the vanquished, and saluted with respect all their 
establishments*. Another, on the contrary, maintain 
that the barbarians loaded with fetters all who bore the 
name of Gaulf. The most illustrious of all, even one of 
those great geniuses who have adorned France, may be 
justly charged with having too exclusively sought the origin 
of every thing, in the very forests of Germany J. 

Let us avoid considering this part of our history in a 
systematic light, and borrow from each hypothesis only 
what is well founded. By this means, perhaps, we shall 
draw near the truth, even on points which, no wise cleared 
up by the long discussions employed on them, have yet re- 
mained obscure. 

And here it is important to observe that authors, in 
treating of the period when the Franks triumphed over the 
Roman power, do not appear to have sufficiently weighed 
the alterations which these people had undergone during 
the century previous to this event. We must recollect that 
they had frequently possessed, during several years at a 
time, some stripes of the northern provinces ; that their 
continual irruptions into other parts of the country had 
brought them into direct communication with the Romans ; 
that the captives, whom they led away slaves, must neces- 
sarily have spread among them some knowledge of the 
political state of Gaul ; so that we cannot wholly regard 
them, at this period, as barbarians bent on exterminating, 

* L*Abbe Dubos. t Le Conite de Boulainvilliers. 

% Montesquieu. 



O GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

indiscriminately and utterly, all who had not sprung from 
the same savage cradle with themselves. 

The laws which prevailed at this early period prove that, 
wherever submission was made, property, and even local 
institutions, were respected. The barbarians seized those 
lands only, which they found free by the death or slavery 
of the proprietors * ; and, at first, made no other alterations 
in the government, than such as were necessary to secure 
their conquest. If the vanquished, from motives of policy, 
were placed in the second rank, we see, notwithstanding, 
that those who coalesced with the conquerors, preserved a 
great preponderance in the management of affairs : of this, 
the reign of iEgidius, after the expulsion of Childeric, is a 
proof. Since the Franks were capable of submitting to a 
Roman, it is evident that the condition of the rest of the 
nation could not have been so bad as some authors have 
supposed it. Besides, it was a principle prevalent among 
the barbarians, that each nation ought to be governed by 
its own rules of justice. This, opinion preserved the use of 
the Roman law to the Romans, as it established the Salic 
law for the Franks, and the Gombet law among the Bur- 
gundians. What was then called the Theodosian code yet 
flourished in Gaul. Now this supposes that the magistra- 
cies were still filled by Romans, since they alone were 
capable of discharging their functions. Several records in 
little manner seem to prove that the administration re~ 

* The Burgundians and Visigoths, who had settled in Gaul before the 
Franks, " took two thirds of their respective conquests, leaving the re- 
" mainder to the Roman proprietor. Each Burgundian was quartered 
" under the gentle name of Guest, upon one of the former tenants, whose 
*' reluctant hospitality confined him to the smaller portion of his estate." 
Leg. Bur gun. c. 55, 55. " The Vandals in Africa, a more furious race of 
" conquerors, seized all the best lands." Procop. de Hello Vandal. 1. 1. c. 5. 
" The Lombards of Italy took a third part of the produce. We cannot 
" discover any mention of a similar arrangement in the laws or history of 
" the Franks. It is, however, clear, that they occupied, by public allot- 
«' ment or individual pillage, a great portion of the lands of France." 
Hallam. c. 11. part 1. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. \j 

mained nearly in its former state, and that the persons 
chosen by the Frank kings to preside over the cities as 
comites, or counts, were generally Romans. 

In fine, the idea, which we may reasonably form on the 
state of the country after the conquest, seems to be this : 
The king of the Franks formed his council of the principal 
Frank chiefs, and such of the illustrious Gauls as had 
without difficulty submitted their necks to the yoke. He 
deliberated with them on the means of completing his con- 
quest, and of extending his dominion, as well over the 
districts yet held by Roman corps, as over those where 
other barbarian chiefs were endeavouring to establish a 
rival power. 

The most considerable Frank chiefs were invested with 
the great commands in the provinces which acknowledged 
the king's authority. The Germans, who had settled in these 
provinces after quitting the banks of the Rhine, were not 
at first dispersed, but, united to their serfs, formed separate 
villages on the lands which had been ceded to them. Dif- 
ference in religion, in worship and usages, united to senti- 
ments of jealousy on the one part, and cupidity on the 
other, could not but establish a natural division between 
the ancient cities, which conquest had spared, and the new 
settlements. The two populations observed each other with 
inquietude, and the relations which existed between them 
were too immediate, not necessarily to produce a sort of 
almost continual struggle, in which the advantage it may be 
readily conceived, seldom fell to the lot of the less powerful. 

Such, with little variation, was the situation of the 
country down to the time when the ancient inhabitants, in 
the series of wars and devastations which form the history 
of the age, seem in some degree, to have totally disappeared. 

§ 4. Of the Regal Power. 
" Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt" says 
Tacitus, speaking of the Germans ; which evidently proves 



10 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

that their kings belonged exclusively to certain families. 
But was the crown hereditary ? 

Respect and submission towards the family of a man 
distinguished for his valour, are sentiments which spring 
with political society, and from which it deduces, in the 
sequel, principles sometimes essential to its preservation. 
Had we room for such inquiries, it would not be difficult 
to show the source and motives of these sentiments ; but 
history moreover can attest the fact. It is not unusual to 
see in all nations, and particularly in those under consider- 
ation, an assembly of old warriors excited to a degree of 
enthusiasm at the sight of a feeble infant; regarding it 
with delight, as one day destined to recall him from whom 
it received life, and of whom it bears the name. 

On the other hand, we cannot imagine a servile and un- 
reasonable attachment to exist among nations where the 
sword is all powerful, where the bravest must ever be the 
first. Who can doubt but that in those annual assemblies 
in which the nation decided every thing with supreme au- 
thority, it was sometimes made the business of discussion 
to dethrone an imbecile or tyrannical king, to make room 
for a chief more worthy of sovereign sway. Is not Chil- 
deric an instance of this # ? 

The apparent contradiction arising here may be thus re- 
conciled. The people had certainly the right of electing 
their kings ; but it was a prevailing principle to limit the 
exercise of this right, and to confine their choice to the 
heirs of the blood royal exclusively. Various authorities 
afford good grounds for this opinion. We read in our an- 

* The Ostrogoths of Italy afford another example to this purpose. At 
the time Justinian, emperor, of the East, undertook the recovery of 
Italy, Theodotus was king- of that nation. But betraying abilities of too 
mean a rank, his subjects came to a resolution to depose him. In an as- 
sembly of the nation, he was declared incapable of governing it in the pe- 
rilous circumstances of the moment. Vitiges, a chief distinguished for 
his valour, was elevated to the throne, and Theodotus soon after fell a vic- 
tim to his jealousy. — Daniel, Hist. Fr. 



BEFORK THE REVOLUTION. 11 

cient historians, that the kings who preceded Clovis, and 
whose names alone are known, most certainly belonged to 
the same family, although the principle of direct hereditary 
descent was not applied to them. This custom, perhaps, in- 
troduced the partition of kingdoms, so frequently practised 
under the first race. The king's sons, in the opinion of the 
people, had an equal right to a share of the kingdom, since 
they could be equally chosen by them to govern the whole 
of it. 

The person destined to reign over the Franks, holding a 
sword in his hand, was elevated on a shield; and the whole 
army which was present at the ceremony, performed various 
evolutions around him*. Such was the coronation. It in- 
dicates a throne whence women were naturally excluded : 
so that whether this constitutive principle of our monarchy 
be joined or not to the body of salic laws, it is not the less 
certain that it must have originated in the very genius of 
those warlike people. Clovis, by the eclat which he threw 
on his arms, gave to royalty a more imposing character, 
and accustomed the people to see it irrecoverably fixed in 
his family, and more regularly transmitted. But it was 
chiefly Christianity which impressed on it the peculiar zeal 
of a religious contract between nations and the blood of 
kings. The bishops, in acknowledgment for the benefits 
heaped upon them by monarchs, as a means of atoning for 
their crimes, attached the name of God to their crown, and 
bade their authority flow from a divine source. Miracles 
confirmed these new doctrines, and kings became sacred 
beings. Hence the holy vialf and the cure of the king's 
evil. Hence those kings faineans, who, at an earlier pe- 
riod, would have been chased from a throne they were so 
little worthy to occupy. 

* Greg. Tier., lib. vii. c. IS. 
t La sainte ampoule, said to have been brought from heaven by a dove 
for the coronation of Clovis. 



12 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

§ 5. The Salic Laws. 

It is an opinion very generally received, that the laws of 
the Franks were written shortly after their settlement in 
Gaul. But it is probable that the entire compilation of the 
Frank code does not date from the same period, and that it 
was produced by successive additions, to meet the wants of 
the new state. 

The situation of the country after its conquest, the ri- 
valry and contention which must necessarily have arisen be- 
tween the two principal bodies of the population, obliged 
the crown to establish some rules for fixing the new rela- 
tions. Policy, as we have seen, had left a sort of equality 
between the ancient inhabitants and those who had but re- 
cently occupied the soil. The civil law, on the contrary, 
establishes an humiliating difference. Thus, in introducing 
the composition, an institution wholly Germanic, and which, 
in fact, necessarily belonged to societies of warriors, with 
whom blood was less esteemed than gold, the law ordained 
that the person who killed a Frank should pay two hundred 
sous to his relations ; while the person, who had made away 
with a Roman, should pay but one hundred sous, — and 
forty-five only was the Roman tributary. Ordinances of 
this kind must have tended to banish the Gaul or Roman 
name from the territory governed by the Franks ; while, in 
a similar way, and step by step, they put a period to the 
use of the Roman law, at first maintained by the kings. 
We can easily imagine a change of this kind, while so many 
advantages attended the being considered a Frank, and 
being subject to the Frank laws ; and every one was at 
liberty, nay, obliged, to make choice of the law under which 
he professed to live. One would willingly acknowledge 
some share of sagacity in laws thus calculated to operate a 
useful mixture of the two nations, had they not accelerated 
the progress of barbarism. The proofs by single combat, 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION, 13 

by hot iron, the judgment of God, are among the institu- 
tions sanctioned by the Frank code. In a future page we 
shall return to this subject. For the present, let us pass to 
that famous article become, one of the fundamental laws 
of our monarchy, and which more than once has prevented 
its falling under a foreign sceptre. 

" De terra vero salica in mulierem nulla portio haereditatis 
" transit, sed hoc virilis sexus acquirit : hoc est, filii in 
" ipsa hereditate succedunt*. No portion of the salic land 
" shall pass to the females, but it shall belong to the males : 
" that is, the male children shall succeed their father." 
This is the sense in which Montesquieu interprets the lawf . 

* Lex. Sal, tit. 62. § 6. 

t " De terra vero salica. "As to the meaning" of the term terra salica or 
salic land, endless disputes have arisen, and the question is still involved 
in no little obscurity. One author understands by it the landed posses- 
sions of the nobles. Another has endeavoured to prove that the salic land 
was originally that small portion which lay round the dwelling- of each in- 
dividual, while yet inhabiting* the forests of Germany. 

According to Mably, the terms allodial, proper, and salic, lands were 
synonymous. He distinguishes two sorts of allodial, the ancient and ac- 
quired ; of which the former was the real salic land, the latter, that which 
the actual possessor had himself acquired. Observ. sur I' Hist, de France, 
1. 2. c. 5, note 7. Another writer, after confirming- the opinion of Mably, 
continues, " Were it permitted me to annex my own opinion to that of an 
" author so enlightened, I should say that the term salic land, especially 
" characterized the allodial domains which belonged to the Franks ; and 
" that those of the Gauls, Burgundians, and others, were called proper or 
" allodial,"' and he strengthens his conjecture by the circumstance, that 
when the feudal government had confounded all previous distinctions, the 
term salic ceased to be in use, while those of allodial and proper still pre- 
vailed. De VEtat Civil des Personnes, &c, dans les Gaules, lib. 1. c. xi. 
Mr. Hallam's authority also concurs with that of Mably. " No solution," 
he observes, " seems more probable, than that the ancient lawgivers of the 
" salian Franks prohibited females from inheriting the lands assigned to 
" the nation upon its conquest of Gaul, both in compliance with their an- 
'' cient usages, and in order to secure the military service of every pro- 
" prietor. But lands, subsequently acquired by purchase or other means, 
" though equally bound to the public defence, were relieved from the se- 
" verity of this rule, and presumed not to belong to the class of salic. 
" Hence in the ripuary law, the code of a tribe of Franks settled upon the 
" banks of the Rhine, and differing rather in words than in substance 



14 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

After certain developements on the application of this 
article in civil matters, the same author continues, " After 
" what has been said, one would not imagine that the perpe- 
" tual succession of the malesto the crown of France, should 
" have taken its rise from the salic law. And yet this is a 
" point indubitably certain. I prove it from the several 
" codes of the barbarous nations. The salic law # , and the 
< ' law of the Burgundians f refused the daughters the right of 
" succeeding to the, and in conjunction with their brothers ; 
" neither did they succeed to the crown. The law of the 
ci Visigoths J, on the contrary, permitted the daughters to 
c 6 inherit the land with the brothers ; and the women were ca - 
" pable of inheriting the crown. Amongst these people, the 
" regulations of the civil law had an effect on the political §." 

§ VI. Servitude. 
There existed, unhappily for the age we are treating of, 
an usage which prevailed in an equal degree among the 
conquerors and the conquered — the service of the glebe. In 
both nations men were attached to landed property, as 
things necessary to its cultivation. This state of things 
arose in Gaul, from the Romans, unwilling to quit their re- 
sidence in the towns, having devised it as the best means of 
securing the revenues of their land ; and, in Germany, be- 
cause the barbarians, disdaining to join the management of 
implements of husbandry with that of arms, had exclusively 
devoted their captives to tillage, and in some degree identi- 
fied their existence with the portion of land assigned to 
their care||. 

" from the salic law, which it serves to illustrate, it is said, that a woman 

" cannot inherit her grandfather's estate (hcereditas aviatica,) distingnish- 

" ing such family property from what the father might have acquired. And 

" Marculfus uses expressions to the same effect. ,, Hall am, chap. 2. part 1. 

* Tit. 62. f Tit. 1 § 3. $ Tit. 14, § I. and tit. 51. 

§ Spirit of Laws. lib. xiv. chap. 22. 

|| Tacitus describes the serfs of the Germans, and in what they differed 

from those of the Romans. " The slaves, in general, are not arranged at 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 15 

Some writers have maintained that the Franks, when 
they settled in Gaul, reduced all the vanquished to a state 
of servitude. They no doubt considerably increased the 
number of serfs, but it does not follow that the conquered 
people were wholly reduced to this condition. Numerous 
facts, on the contrary, falsify the assertion, while all the 
laws of the period prove it to be a manifest error. What 
gave rise to it, was the circumstance that about the com- 
mencement of the third race, the artisans, almost all the 
inhabitants of towns, were serfs ; but Montesquieu has 
shown whence it happened, that the number of free men, 

" their several employments in the household affairs, as is the practice at 
" Rome. Each has his separate habitation, and his own establishment 
" to manage. The master considers him as an agrarian dependant, who 
" is obliged to furnish a certain quantity of grain, of cattle, or of wearing 
" apparel." De Mor. Germ. xxv. 

At first the Romans had few slaves, and those generally devoted to do- 
mestic duties. But in the course of time, the practice of reducing prisoners 
taken in war to slavery, increased the number to such a degree, that it was 
no uncommon thing for a man to possess several thousands at a time. 

From the practice of servitude, thus common to the conquerors and the 
conquered, there came to be two descriptions of slaves established in Gaul» 
after the invasion of the Franks. The various distinctions which had pre- 
vailed among Roman serfs, were soon lost in the common term of coloni 
or tributary. The German slaves were termed inferiores servi. The 
Roman laws on servitude continued in force under the two first races of 
Frank kings ; but only among the Romans, ecclesiastics, tenants of monas- 
teries, and such others as professed to follow them. These laws rendered 
the condition of the Roman very superior to that of the German serf. The 
former could not be torn from the soil he cultivated, or sold separate from it. 
So particular was the law on this point, that when a part of an estate was 
sold, a due proportion only of the serfs could be sold with it. The share 
of produce assigned the lord, also, was fixed and permanent. The Frank 
serf, on the contrary, was at the absolute disposal of his master. 

This distinction is recognised by the salic law. The composition for a 
colonus, or tributary, is fixed at 45 sols — that of a mere slave at 20 sols. 
Leg. Salic, tit. 44. art. 7. apud D. Bouq. torn. 4. p. 147. It is also evident 
from a sentence of Charles the Bald, A.D. 8G1, against the men of the 
abbey of St. Denis at Mintry, who pretended to be coloni, and were de- 
clared inferiores servi, (Dubois, Hist, de I'Eglise de Paris, torn. 1. p. 
491.; in lEtat Civil des Personnes. 



16 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE. 

still considerable under the first race, afterwards diminished 
to such a degree, that in the tenth century the whole popu- 
lation of France was made up of nobility and slaves. 
" What was not effected by the conquest, was effected by the 
" same law of nations, that subsisted after the conquest. 
" Opposition, revolts, and the taking of towns, were fol- 
" lowed with the servitude of the inhabitants. And, not to 
" mention the wars which the different conquering nations 
" made against one another, as there was this particularity 
" among the Franks, that the different divisions of the mo- 
" narchy gave rise continually to civil wars, between 
" brothers or nephews, in which this law of nations was 
" constantly practised ; servitudes, of course, became more 
" general in France, than in other countries*." 

It was the progress of villainage, we conceive, which gra. 
dually destroyed the vestiges of the ancient municipal in- 
stitutions of the Romans, at first respected. It contributed 
in like manner, to cover the whole of France with the 
clouds of ignorance and barbarism. The Romans alone 
preserved any remains of the light which had shed such 
splendour on this unfortunate country, before the invasion 
of the barbarians ; and we may easily imagine that, in the 
series of predatory wars and calamities which ensued, those 
were Roman hands that were chiefly loaded with the fetters 
of servitude. 

§ VII. Vassalage. 
The principal men among the Germans, say the ancients, 
had each a small band of followers, alike in war and in 
peace attached to their fortunes. " Their dignity and 
" power," says Tacitus, " consist in being constantly sur- 
" rounded with a multitude of young and chosen people : 
" this they reckon an ornament in peace, a defence and 
" support in war. Their name becomes famous at home, 
* Spirit of Laws. lib. xxx. cap. 11. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 17 

" and among neighbouring nations, when they excel all 
" others in the number and courage of their companions # , 
" they receive presents and embassies from all parts. Re- 
" putation frequently decides the fate of war. In battle it 
" is infamy in the prince to be surpassed in courage ; it 
" is infamy in the companions not to follow the brave ex- 
" ample of their prince ; it is an eternal disgrace to sur- 
" vive him. To defend him, is their most sacred engage- 
" ment. If a city be at peace, the princes go to those 
" which are at war ; and it is by this means they retain a 
" great number of friends. To these, they give the war- 
" horse, and the terrible javelin. Their pay consists in 
" coarse, but large repasts. The prince supports his libe- 
" rality merely by war and plunder. You might easier 
" persuade them to challenge the enemy, and expose them- 
" selves to wounds, than to cultivate the land and attend 
" the cares of husbandry ; they refuse to acquire by sweat, 
" what they can purchase with blood f." This passage 
contains the origin of feudal vassalage. There were as yet 
no fiefs, but there were, as Montesquieu says, " trusty men 
" who were bound by their word, who were engaged to 
" follow the prince to the field, and performed very near 
" the same service, as was afterwards performed for the 
" fiefs J." 

In the early ages of the monarchy, we see only the king's 
vassals, who appear under the name of Leucles, Anlrus- 
tions, Fideles^, words which have the same signification. 

. * Comites. f Tacitus, de Mor. Ger. % Montesquieu, lib. xxx. cap. 4. 

§ The word antrustion is peculiar to French history. It is derived 
from the German wood treue, truth or trust, and designates such men as 
the king- had taken under his special faith and guardianship, in truste regis. 
Marculfus has preserved the formula of the act by which they were admit- 
ted to this dig-nity. They were also termed convivce regis, because antrus- 
tionage conferred the right of sitting at table with the prince. The com- 
position for their murder was equal to that of a count, 600 sols. The title 
was not hereditary ; the son of an antrustion, unless he received a charter 

Vol. I, r 



18 GOVERNMENT OF PRANCE 

But degrees of vassalage were afterwards introduced, in the 
same manner as degrees in fiefs ; so that the king had his 
Leudes, the Leudes their vassals, and these again their in- 
ferior vassals. These are the roots of that feudal tree, of 
which the branches for so long a period overspread the 
face of European society. 

§ 8. Fiefs. 

We treat here of the origin only of that famous insti- 
tution of fiefs, which forms the distinctive character in the 
political legislation of the moderns. 

The Count de Buat # having collected different passages 
from our old laws relating to the frontier lands of the em- 
pire, commonly granted to veterans, thence draws the fol- 
lowing conclusions: — 1st. That these possessions were not 
hereditary ; 2d. That they were masculine ; 3d. That they 
were benefices under certain relations ; 4th. That the son 
of the last possessor was chosen to be invested in prefer- 
ence to strangers, provided he was capable of discharging 
the duties which such possession imposed ; 5th. That the 
serfs and cattle, with which they were stocked, were obliged 
to be forthcoming when the property passed to a new pos- 
sessor. " From all these marks," he adds, " we ought, I 
think, to distinguish fiefs, such as they continued down to 
the time of Charles the Bald." This system has been dis- 
puted by the gravest authorities, though it appears to con- 
tain nothing improbable. 

similar to that of his father, having- nothing to distinguish him from the 
class of ordinary citizens. 

The terms Leudes, Antrustions, Fideles, were not, strictly speaking 
synonymous. The first more properly belonged to such persons as had 
received the investiture of a fief; Antrustions were those received under 
the king's special protection ; whereas the term Fideles was sometimes ex- 
tended to all who had taken an oath of fidelity to the king. For more on 
-this subject see L'Etat Civil des Personnes, fyc. 

* Les Ongines, fyc, torn. 1. lib.iv. cap. 1. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 



19 



It is necessary to observe, that, as the barbarians in alli- 
ance with the Empire were sometimes commissioned by 
princes to guard the frontiers against the invasion of other 
barbarians, this institution was sometimes made in their 
favour ; that lands were also granted, in a similar way, and 
at different times, even in the centre of the Empire, to 
several hordes who demanded settlements ; and this explains 
why it was that fiefs were not confined to the frontiers 
only. 

However, without wholly clearing up an origin certainly 
very obscure, we must still conclude, that, under the first 
race of kings, a great many estates, under the various 
names of fiefs, benefices, honors, were granted the king's 
vassals, either in recompense for services, or to fix a waver- 
ing attachment : these are fiefs, though the name may not 
have come into use till afterwards. 

The first estates held by this title, as their very nature 
indicates, were certainly precarious. They could not, how- 
ever, be conferred or taken away at the suggestions of mere 
caprice. The sovereign was bound to consult on this sub- 
ject with his chief counsellors, that is, with the leudes : 
and as these were the proprietors of the first fiefs, they had 
consequently to decide on the fate of their peers. 

Men were accustomed to maintain themselves in the of- 
fices they held by gold or violence, and they adopted similar 
means to perpetuate their benefices. Legal concessions 
were even extorted from the weakness of princes. They 
were obliged, at first, to respect the title of possession 
during a year, then to renew it, to render it for life, and, 
finally, hereditary; so that, towards the end of the first 
race, the greater number of fiefs were transmitted from 
parents to their children*. 

* As the institution of fiefs is certainly one of the most important sub 
jects of modern history, and the groundwork of several of the constitut- 
ions of Europe, a somewhat more satisfactory detail of its origin may be 
looked for, than is given in this chapter. Our 

c 2 



20 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



The noblesse sprung from the succession of benefices. 
The annalists of the early ages of the monarchy are satisfied 

Our authors, in their account of the government of Roman Gaul, have 
described the origin of the provincial militia. Alexander Severus, amongst 
other emperors, resorted to this expedient. We find from Lampridius, 
that he distributed to his officers and soldiers, the lands which he had 
conquered from the barbarians • but on the express condition, that they 
should not devolve to their heirs, unless they carried arms. " Sola qua 
" tie hostibus capta sunt limitaneis ducibus et militibus donavit, ita ut 
" eorum ita essent si haredes illorum militarent, nee unquam ad pri- 
" vatos usos pertinerent. Dicens hos attentius militaturos si etiam 
" rura sua defenderent, addidit sane his et animalia et servos, ut pos- 
" sent collere quod acceperant, ne per inopiam hominum, vel per senec- 
" tutem desererentur rura vicina Barbarice, quod ille turpissimum du- 
" cebatr Lamprid. in Alex. Sev. p. 202. This example was followed 
by Probus, relative to the lands of Isauria, a region of Asia Minor. 
Vopiscus, in Probo, cap. 16. It followed the ravages of the barbarians, 
and was introduced into the interior of the Empire. It was extended to 
soldiers who had not attained the rank of veterans, on condition of their 
guarding the frontiers, the passages of rivers, castles, and towns ; whence 
came the various appellations of limitanei, ripenses, castellani, burgarii. 
The barbarians themselves were assigned lands as the price of repelling 
other hordes, and to fill up the waste caused by their ravages. Maximian, 
Constantius Chlorus, Constantine, and Valentinian, submitted to this 
remedy. 

Lands thus granted, on condition of military service, were called bene- 
fices. St. Augustin makes allusion to the oath taken by soldiers on re- 
ceiving them: Notum est quod milites sceculi temporalia beneficia a 
temporalibus dominis accepturi, prius militaribus sacramentis obligen- 
tur, et dominis suisjidem servaturos profitentur. Ser. 1. in Vigil. Pen- 
tecost. The benefices, in fact, were so numerous, that each province 
had its particular register, called liber beneficiorum. " Si qua beneficia 
" concessa aut assignata colonics fuerint, in Ubro beneficiorum adscri- 
" bimus." Hygenus, de Limit. Agror., cited by Ducange, at the word 
beneficium. 

It appears, therefore, that under the Emperors, lands were granted on 
condition of military service. We have next to inquire, whether this 
usage was adopted by the Frank conquerors of Gaul. 

In the general distribution of lands among the followers of Go vis, cer- 
tain territories, under the name of fiscal lands, were reserved to the crown. 
They were at first intended as a provision for the prince, and for the 
maintenance of his dignity. But his necessities soon compelled him to 
use them as a means of supporting his power. They were granted, 
under the title of benefices, to his courtiers and others, either to reward 
their services, or to secure their attachment. Like the benefices of the 
Romans, these grants implied the condition of military service, though in 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 21 

with recording a series of frightful crimes; but we have 
only to contemplate this period more profoundly, to per- 

this respect they differed from them, that, on the death of the possessor, 
the fiscal benefices reverted to the crown. But were these benefices fiefs f 
The condition of military service was common to them both. The grants 
made by Charles Martel to his officers were called benefices ; and it is 
acknowledged by every one, that these lands were afterwards known by 
the name of fiefs. The word vassal, vassus, which, in feudal language, 
means a person who holds of a fief, prevailed long before the latter word 
came into use. In the laws of the Alemanni, drawn up by Thierry, who 
reigned from the year 511 to 534, and corrected by Dagobert about 630, 
mention is several times made of the vassals and arriere vassals of the 
sovereign. Conquestio de vasso qui justitiam facerc renuit ; hominum 
vassum, omnibus vassis regis, are also terms which occur in the formula 
published by Baluze, and framed in the time of Grimoald, Mayor of the 
palace under Sigebert II., who died A.D. 656. In the proofs, collected in 
the Appendix to the History of Alsace, by Laguille, is inserted a charter 
of the year 728, in which Eberard of Alsace calls his vassals, ivassos 
nostros. 

According to Henault, the word fief was not adopted in the French 
language till about the tenth century ; and it is maintained by him, that 
the origin of fiefs can be traced no higher. But the words used to express 
the relations of feudality, such as fides, fidelitas, devotio, fidelis, devotus, 
hominium, militia, milites, &;c., were all in use before this period, and 
applied to benefices. Nothing can afford a stronger proof of the identity 
of the two words, and that the introduction of the term feudum solely 
arose from the decay of the Latin, and prevalence of the barbarian lan- 
guage. Aimoin says of Clovis, " Milidunum castrum Aureliano cum 
" totius ducatu regionis jure bencficii concessit."' Hist. Franc, lib. ii. 
c. 24 ; and he, no doubt, speaks of the same territory that the Counts of 
Melun, who claimed descent from Aurelian, afterwards held of the French 
kings by feudal tenure. The records of the tenth and following centu- 
ries, every where afford proofs of the identity of the words beneficium 
and feudum. They are taken indifferently, and are only used as differ- 
ent ways for expressing one and the same meaning. In a charter of 
1087, apud Mir. torn. i. page 515, we read the words beneficium quod 
vulgo dicitur feod am. 

From the benefices, therefore, of the Romans, adopted by the Franks, 
arose one class of fiefs. All the degrees of feudal subordination at first 
formed no part of benefices, but gradually sprung from the parent insti- 
tution. It became a common practice, especially after Charlemagne, for 
the holders of benefices to carve out portions of their estates, to be held 
by tenures similar to those by which they themselves held of the sovereign. 
"The oath of fidelity," says Mr. Hallam, "which they had taken, the 
" homage which they had paid to the sovereign, they exacted from their 
** own vassals. To render military service, became the essential obliga- 



22 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



ceive, that the struggle which had now arisen between 
princes and their great vassals, was the primary cause of 

" tion which the tenant of a benefice undertook ; and out of the ancient 
" grants, now become, for the most part, hereditary, there grew up, in 
" the tenth century, both in name and in reality, the system of feudal 
" tenures." Hallam, c. ii. part 1. 

There is yet another class of fiefs, of which the origin, like those de- 
rived from benefices, may be also traced to the Romans. The offices of 
duke and count, in use among* the Romans, were adopted by the Franks. 
Charged with the military and judicial government of provinces, the very 
nature of their trust afforded facilities for aggrandizement, when the 
sceptre, wielded by weak and imbecile hands, was no longer able to re- 
press their encroachments. They seized the crown lands, amassed estates 
in their several jurisdictions, and united adjoining- counties to their own. 
And although Charlemagne checked the progress of their usurpations, 
by limiting them to one county, and by appointing itinerant judges for 
the administration of justice ; yet, under his successors, they renewed 
them with more success than ever. Both Louis the Debonair and Charles 
the Bald, suifered several counties to be united under the same person. 
Nothing, in fact, was wanting to the independence of these officers, ex- 
cept the permanency of their possessions. Under the Merovingian race, 
with the exception of a few great fiefs, such as those of Bavaria and Bri- 
tany, the grants of the crown had been generally revocable at the will of 
the prince. This was more particularly the case with the offices of duke 
and count. The son, it is true, may have often succeeded the father ; but 
it was always understood to be by the special favour of the sovereign. In 
the decline of the Carlovingian race, this principle was forgotten. In an 
assembly held under Charles the Bald at Coulaines, A.D. 843, it was de- 
clared, that, for the future, no person should be deprived of his fiefs and 
dignities, unless a sentence, founded on reason and equity, should have 
previously condemned him to forfeit them : and, four years after, a capitu- 
lary enacted, that at the death of a count or other vassal, his son, if he had 
one capable of succeeding him, should take his place. As the power of 
the crown still declined, the great vassals advanced in the career of inde- 
pendence. In the tenth century, they had become real sovereigns, owing 
nothing but feudal homage and military service to the king, as lord para- 
mount. It was then, too, that they introduced the practice of adding the 
name of their province or county to their own. As to the free or allodial 
proprietors, in what way the feudal system involved the dependence of 
their tenures, is explained at the end of this chapter ; though it is pro- 
bable, from the weakness of the crown, that protection was first sought 
by them, in submitting to the superiority of the neighbouring lords, rather 
than to that of the sovereign. Their adhesion completed the chain of 
feudal subordination. See VEtat Civil des Personnes. Hallam, Hist. 
Mid. Ages. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 23 

all those sanguinary convulsions. In proportion as the 
number of the latter increased, some few of them became 
the exclusive confidants of their sovereign. Greedy and 
ambitious like their masters, they induced them to pass 
acts of repeal or spoliation, which sometimes threw the 
whole kingdom into revolt, always those who were affected 
by them. Such is the history of the famous rivalry of 
Fredegunde. 

We have hitherto spoken of the original fiefs conferred 
by the crown. But disorder and confusion augmenting 
from year to year, from age to age, a considerable number 
of allodial tenures were reduced to fiefs or arriere fiefs . 
Privileges were assigned the king's vassals, and his sceptre 
afforded protection. It became desirable to enjoy this rank, 
and this introduced the custom of changing the allodial into 
feudal tenures, by the freeholder resigning his land to the 
king, who restored it to him again under the title of bene- 
fice or fief. A formula of this kind is still extant % In 
this description of fief, the right of succession could not be 
disputed ; a quality that was probably one reason for after- 
wards regarding all lands known under this name, as pos- 
sessed by hereditary title. Fear, we conceive, on the one 
part, and violence on the other, the need of protection, and 
the desire to oppress, afterwards created among subjects an 
order analogous to that which had at first existed between 
the king and some of his subjects. " Every one," says the 
great man to whom we must always recur, " entered, if I 
" may so express myself, into the feudal monarchy, because 
." the political monarchy was now no more. 

§ 9. Justice. 

Power is justice. Society, in fact, only establishes supe- 
riorities for fixing rights and relations, for maintaining the 
rules necessary to its existence. Hence it is that justice is 

* Marculfus, lib. i. formula 13. 



24 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

the constant attribute of royalty, or hence in every state it 
emanates from the sovereign. In the unhappy age we are 
treating of, this principle was forgotten. We are there 
struck with the singular spectacle of the most august pre- 
rogative of the crown parcelled out and divided, and in 
some measure become the immediate consequence of pos- 
sessing a particular portion of the soil. This spectacle, then 
offered for the first time, is wwthy of fixing the attention 
of those who meditate on the principle, end, and results of 
human institutions. The judicial offices had been at first 
occupied by royal officers ; but the disorder introduced into 
every branch of the administration no longer kept aloof 
from justice. The king's judges were superseded and ex- 
pelled, and violence usurped the place of law. 

To explain the astonishing revolution which made justice 
a right of fief, it may be observed that the composition 
formed all the legislation of the Franks. The injury com- 
mitted, or the blood shed, was paid for : the family of the 
offended party were then excused the sacred duty of revenge, 
while society preserved a member sometimes rendered valu- 
able by his audacity or genius. But in addition to what 
was given the relations, as the price of atonement, there 
was also a fine due to the judge of the territory in which 
the action had been committed. The legislator, no doubt, 
intended this as a sort of public expiation for a public of- 
fence, and calculated to prevent its recurrence. It was 
called fredum, and like the composition, proportioned to 
the crime. 

" Here I see the origin of the jurisdiction of the lords. 
" The fiefs comprised very large territories, as appears 
" from a vast number of records. I have clearly proved 
" that the kings raised no taxes on the lands belonging to 
" the division of the Franks : much less could they reserve 
" to themselves any duties on the fiefs. They who obtained 
" them had, in this respect, a full and perfect enjoyment. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 25 

" reaping every fruit and possible emolument from them. 
" And as one of the most considerable emoluments was the 
"judiciary profits (Jreda,) which were received according 
" to the usage of the Franks, it followed from thence that 
" the person seized of the fief was also seized of the juris- 
" diction, the exercise of which consisted of the compo- 
" sitions made to the relations, and of the profits accruing 
" to the lord; it was nothing more than ordering the pay- 
" ment of the composition of the law, and demanding the 
" law fines*." 

It is as well to observe, however, that if the crown thus 
lost its finest prerogative, it at least preserved the original 
title. The king no longer administered justice, but it was 
his duty to take care that it was administered ; and this, as 
a species of service attached to the fief, he could compel the 
lords to discharge. 

Thus was an order established which, after proving 

* Montesquieu, lib. xxx., cap. 20. The first traces of seigneurial 
jurisdiction are found in the benefices, granted by Clovis and his suc- 
cessors from the fisc to ecclesiastics. These benefices were generally 
conferred with the right of justice. See Marculfus, Form. 14, 17, lib. i. 
When the crown had no longer lands to bestow, it finished by alien- 
ating the justice it had hitherto administered. In a formula of Mar- 
culfus, lib. 1, iii., the king declares, that on the petition of such a 
bishop, he confers upon him, as a benefice, the following privileges : 
" that no royal judge should at any time enter the villages dependant on 
*' his church, whether to administer j ustice therein, to demand bail, or col- 
" lect fines, freda ; that the emoluments of justice, as well over free men 
" as serfs, should henceforward belong to the bishop in the limits or circle of 
" his church." There were similar forms for monasteries, as well as for 
secular persons. The judicial independence of the bishops and other great 
proprietors is also recognised in the constitution granted by Clotaire II., 
A.D. 614, one hundred and three years after the death of Clovis. Those 
who possess estates in districts where they do not reside, are forbidden to 
choose officers for the administration of justice and collection of its emolu- 
ments, out of the limits of such estates. Episcopi vel potentes qui in aliis 
possident regionibus, judices vel missos discussores de aliis provinciis 
nori instituant nisi de loco, qui justitiam percipiant et aliis reddant. 
D. Bouquet, Recueil des Hist. Franc, torn. iv. p. 119, art. 19. cited in 
L" Etat Civil des Personnes. 



26 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

during several ages, a scourge to the people, left shapeless 
and confused, our whole judiciary system, down to the pe- 
riod when its very foundations were overthrown. 

§ 10. The Clergy. 

The catholic clergy had admitted the Franks, and many 
favoured their conquest, because, abandoned by the empe- 
rors, they dreaded much less the government of the pagans, 
than that of the Arians of the south *. The former were 
strangers to persecution, and the clergy could indulge the 
hope of converting them to Catholicism. Nay, there is rea- 
son to believe that before the conquest, the light of the 
faith had already illuminated many of the barbarians. 

The church during the first ages preserved the use of 
the Roman law. The bishops, men remarkable for their 
age and sanctity, and affording striking examples of chris- 
tian benevolence, won the veneration of the barbarian 
kings. Before their conversion they respected them ; 
become christians, they made them their counsellors. 
These used their influence in protecting the unhappy van- 
quished, and in exercising a kind of beneficial patronage. 
And, although it be true that some, abusing their influence, 

* Clovis, after his conversion to Christianity, was the only catholic king- 
then in the world. The Emperor Anastasius favoured the Eutychians, 
the king of the Vandals in Africa, Theodoric King- of the Ostrog-oths in 
Italy, Alaric King- of the Visig-oths in Spain and the south of France, 
Gondebaud King of the Burgundians, were all Arians. Diet. Hist. Lyon, 
1804. The Visigoths and Burgundians who had settled in Gaul before 
the Franks, were the principal opponents of Clovis after the Romans. It 
was in his contests with the kings of these people, that he derived the most 
assistance from the clergy, almost all of whom were of the catholic faith, 
and consequently ready to assist him against their heretical masters. The 
conversion of Clovis is attributed to his wife Clotilda, niece of Gondebaud 
King of the Burgundians, but of the catholic faith. Had the Frank king- 
fallen into other hands, and become an Arian, it is more than probable that 
the power of the Roman bishop, unsupported by the throne of France, 
would never have extended beyond the limits of his diocese. Still more 
likely will this appear, if we recollect the important results which followed 
the connexion of Pepin and the kings of the second race, with the pope. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 27 

changed it in the sequel into an odious tyranny ; as, for 
instance, Gregory of Tours, speaks of a bishop of Auvergne, 
who, in the first century of the monarchy, violently seized 
the lands which bounded his domain, and threw into prison 
a priest who refused to give him his property ; yet we 
must not attribute to violence, as a principal cause, the 
rapid increase in the wealth of the church. It had a 
purer origin. The donations bestowed on it, instead of 
being extorted, were regarded in those times of ignorance, 
as well by those who accepted, as by those who made them, 
as expiations — as the price of sins, to borrow the language 
of a law of Carloman. We learn also from various records 
that the virtues of the ecclesiastics frequently afforded a 
happy recompense for the evils of those disastrous times. 
Humanity more than once found advocates in the ranks of 
the church. Can we be surprised that the people should 
load them with benefits, of which they made so praise- 
worthy a use ? 

The ecclesiastics were indebted to royal munificence for 
fiscs or benefices. They had, therefore, their vassals like 
the laity, and like them led them to war, though this duty 
was sometimes intrusted to their advocati. It was as late as 
towards the commencement of the second race, before the 
clergy could exempt themselves from the military service 
which they owed as kings' vassals. 

As barbarism spread, the higher clergy, now the only 
men almost who preserved any traces of the ancient civi- 
lization, acquired a fresh degree of influence. We shall 
hereafter point out other causes and circumstances which 
produced a total revolution in the state of the clergy, and 
made them, what they had never been under the Romans, 
a political body. 

% 1 1- National Assemblies. 
Among the Gauls and Franks, by a remarkable coin- 
cidence, we find alike prevail the early use of those great 



28 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

assemblies in which the nation convoked, deliberated on 
its most important concerns, and exercised supreme power. 
These nations, originally, were probably no other than 
two branches of the great Celtic stock, and their con- 
formity in this respect is, therefore, the less to be won- 
dered at. 

The assemblies of the Franks were held every year in 
the months of March or May, which has left them the 
famous name of Champ de Mars*. All the freemen of the 
nation came there in arms ; the king, surrounded by his 
leudes was present. It was at once a review and a dietf . 

The Franks, after the Conquest, being dispersed over the 
whole country, either as depositaries of power or land pro- 
prietors, it became difficult to convoke them. From that 
time, therefore, the assemblies gradually became rare and 
incomplete, and they were soon all but superseded by 
councils composed of leudes and prelates. Some other per- 
sonages, it is true, who belonged to neither of these classes 
were summoned ; but, even had all the Franks scattered 
over the country been convened, it is not the less evident 
that the nature of the assembly would have been now 
changed. Anciently, all the free men composed a part ; at 
this time, a distinction was created between them. The 
allodial proprietors, whether of Roman or barbarian origin, 
formed a new class between the higher ranks and their 
serfs ; and this class was not called to the assembly, which 
regulated affairs of state in conjunction with the monarch. 

The face of government then experienced a change. The 

* Under the first race of king's, the people were generally convoked on 
the first of March. Pepin, thinking this too early in the year for the troops 
to take the field, changed it to the first of May. " Ibi placitum suum 
campis madis, quod ipse primus pro campo Martis pro utilitate Fran- 
corum instituit, tenens, multis muneribus a Francis et proceribus suis 
delatus est" Fredegarius a 766. From that time these assemblies are 
called indifferently Champ de Mars, and Champ de Mai. 

t Legendre, Mceurs et Coutumes. Reign of Pepin, 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 29 

nation assembled had hitherto dictated laws : it was thence- 
forward to receive them from the king, assisted by a council 
of his own formation. The democratical principle was 
destroyed, and all that now remained to be apprehended, 
were the abuses of aristocracy or despotism. 

These new councils are described by various authors 
under the names of placita, conventus, parlamenta. Some 
are of opinion that the origin of parliament should be 
referred to this source ; and, although this is a point diffi- 
cult to clear up, it is at least evident, from the existence 
of such assemblies, that in every age of the monarchy the 
regal authority has been prescribed by some limits. Among 
other powers these councils decided on the great affairs of 
administration, exercised judicial power over the grandees 
of the kingdom, and conferred the regency. At the head 
of some edicts of this period we read cumfidelium nostrorum 
consensu atque consilio. Upon the whole, they may be con- 
sidered as occupying a middle station between the Champ 
de Mars and the states-general # . 

§12. Of the Mayors. 

Originally the mayor was no other than one of the offi- 
cers who bore the title of domestici regis. He presided 
over the order to be observed in the palace, and his power 
extended not beyond the threshold. This trust insensibly 
became the most important in the royal household : it was 
granted for several years fixed, then for life, and finally 
became hereditary like the crown. 

-As long as the mayor was only an officer of the palace, 

* It may be observed also, among- the many causes which tended to 
produce a change in the character of these assemblies after the Conquest, 
that wars did not now take place every year, and that, consequently, ko 
much of their interest was lost in the eyes of a warlike people. But every 
year increased the civil affairs which demanded the attention of govern- 
ment, and added to their intricacy. These, therefore, were left to the 
bishops and principal laymen, who soon came to form the sole advisers of 
the sovereign. 



30 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

the king appointed him : become the second personage in 
the kingdom, he was elected by the nation, that is, by the 
assembly of principal lords and eccclesiastics who repre- 
sented it. 

The extraordinary spectacle was then exhibited of two 
dynasties equally respected reigning together ; one bearing 
the diadem of royalty, the other holding the sceptre of 
power. The posterity of the mayor, like the members of 
the blood royal, were held sacred. " The extravagant pas- 
sion of the nation for Pepin's family, says Montesquieu, 
went so far, that they chose one of his grandsons, who 
was yet an infant, for mayor : they put him over one 
Dagobert, that is, one phantom over another *'. 

The mayors under the title of Dukes of the Franks, were 
prime ministers and commanders-in-chief. Invested with 
supreme authority, they were kings in every thing but the 
title. Pepin Heristal paved the way to his descendants 
for acquiring this title also — for, superseding those mo- 
narchs of the palace, of whom the people knew but the 
name, the accession and death. The indolence of character 
which distinguished the successors of Clovis, and the abi- 
lity of some mayors, no doubt greatly contributed towards 
the establishment of this singular government ; but there 
is yet another cause worthy of notice. The leudes and pre- 
lates would probably favour the extension of a dignity 
exercised by one of their peers ; the former, because they 
could equally aspire to it ; the latter, because they found 
in it a means of extorting fresh largesses. Finally, the 
mayor might be sometimes considered as a kind of tutor 
placed by the national body over the king, to attend him in 
his most secret actions, and to direct all his resolutions. 

§ 13. Charles Martel. (8th century). 
The victorious sword of Charles Martel accelerated the 
* Lib. xxxi. cap. 6. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 31 

revolution, to which the situation of things necessarily 
tended. He took different steps from his predecessors, 
and instead of lending himself to fruitless measures with 
the great, thought only of attaching to his fortunes the 
companions of his triumphs. The vast riches acquired by 
the clergy were seized, and distributed. 

This aera is remarkable. The grants made by Charles, 
were made in perpetuity, but at the charge to the posses- 
sors of preserving their faith, and rendering him military 
service. According to several writers, this is the true date 
of fiefs. But who can warrant this establishment to have 
been any thing more than an imitation of what was already 
in existence # . It is enough, however, to notice the dif- 
ference of opinion which prevails on points of this kind ; 
to discuss them would be a waste of time and words. 

Charles Martel reigned alone for some time, but without 
taking the title of king. He died, and his son Pepin having 
but one step more to take, mounted the throne, and com- 
menced in his person the sway of the second dynasty. 

§ 14. Pepin-le-Bref, 
Was a man endowed with great courage, a high 
degree of prudence, and precisely with that kind of genius 
fitted to consolidate the power gained by his ancestors. 
He governed with moderation ; and, while he strove to 
render the nobles favourable, at the same time consulted 
the interests of the clergy. A part of the property of which 
this order had been despoiled was restored, and the esta- 
blishment of the precairesf made some amends for the 
other. " Without adopting," says the president HenaultJ, 
" any system on the succession .to the crown, it will be 
" sufficient to observe historically, that at Pepin's accession, 
" it was seen for the first time pass into a strange family. 
" Under the first race it had been always worn by the de- 

* See note on § viii. f For an explanation of this term see § xv. 

% AbrSge Chronohgique de IHistoire de France, Regne de Pepin. 



32 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

" scendants of Clovis only ; without respect, it is true, to 
" the right of primogeniture, or distinction between bastard 
" and legitimate children, and with division. It was held in 
" the same manner under the second race by Pepin's chil- 
" dren ; but. just as he had despoiled the lawful heir, so 
" were his descendants dispossessed in turn. Finally, under 
" the third race, the successive hereditary law is so well 
" established that kings are no longer masters of deranging 
" the order of succession, and the crown belongs to the 
" eldest son." 

Pepin, it appears, demanded and obtained the consent 
of the grandees for placing on his head the crown of the 
imbecile Childeric ; but he chiefly founded his usurpation 
on the support of another authority, which by this act of 
submission he at once created sovereign. Hitherto the 
bishops had only given their sanction to the regal power, 
as placed among the chief personages of the state by their 
rank, their wealth, and virtues. The church was now- 
called upon to consecrate a manifest violation of the 
respected principle of hereditary right. Its august chief, 
for the first time, established a religious bond between the 
race of the new monarch and his subjects. Fidelity became 
a duty of which the wrath of Heaven was to punish the 
breach. The ceremony of coronation was introduced. 

It has been said, and with a good deal of probability, that 
Pepin paid for the eminent service thus rendered to his 
crown, and that the famous grant by means of which the 
head of the faithful became an Italian prince, was the 
price. Our business is not to examine whether the pontiff 
had a right to interfere in a political convention between 
the throne and its subjects, or if the new king could grant 
territories in Italy to a bishop of Rome, but merely to state 
a fact which changed the face of royalty in our monarchy*. 

* This change of dynasty deserves particular notice from the connexion 
which it produced between the see of Rome and the French government, 
and the important results which followed. Pepin, mayor of the palace, 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 



33 



§15. Charlemagne. (9 th century). 

The darkness which enveloped Europe before and after 
the reign of this prince, serves to give it an additional 
splendour. The clouds of night are for a moment dissipated. 

Considering Charlemagne in the light of a legislator, the 
reform which he effected bears upon four principal points ; 
the national assembly, the internal administration, justice, 
and the clergy. 

Pepin had restored the Champ de Mai by convoking 
every year the principal members of the clergy, and of what 
we may now term the nobility ; but this was rather a mark 
of deference on the part of the monarch, than as evincing 
any intention of acknowledging the rights of the nation to 
any share in the sovereignty. 

Charles knew that if he did not gain support to his will 
in this assembly by the concurrence of men not belonging 
to the two classes which had hitherto composed it, his 
wishes for the amelioration of things would never be 
realized. He came to a resolution, therefore, to introduce 
the deputies of that larger part of the nation, since called 
the third estate, into the Champs de Mai. This he suc- 
ceeded in effecting ; and thus was formed that alliance 
between the throne and people, of which the object was to 

appealed to the Pope Zacharias, as to the justice of the deposition of 
Childeric III., the descendant of Clovis, and his lawful sovereign, He 
received a favourable award, and with the consent of the Franks, mounted 
the throne' On the other hand, a religious quarrel had alienated the 
Pope and people of Italy from the Greek domination. The Lombards, 
masters of the country which still goes by their name, were extending- their 
conquests into the south, and threatening- Rome itse]f. It was necessary 
to seek assistance somewhere. The pontiff called in the aid of Pepin. 
This prince marched into Italy, chased the invaders from their recent 
acquisitions, and bestowed them on the Pope. They comprised nearly 
the provinces of Romag-na and the March of Ancona. The protection of 
the interests of the holy see thus devolved on the new dynasty of the 
Franks, Finally, the elevation of Charlemagne to the throne of the 
Caesars re-established the western empire, aiid opened a Jiew and more 
ample field to papal policy and ambition. 

Vol. I. D 



34 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

terminate the evils resulting from the conquest of the 
barbarians, and to which we shall see the kings of the 
third race remain almost always faithful. Thus, too, was 
the primitive and fundamental principle of the French 
government for a time re-established. 

Charlemagne instituted two assemblies each year. The 
first and the most solemn was the Champ de Mai. Affairs 
of importance were there deliberated upon, and laws 
passed. The emperor, in order that the deputies might 
discuss the national interests with perfect liberty, did not 
appear among them, says Hincmar # , but when soli- 
cited to terminate their disputes, or give his sanction to 
their resolutions. The second assembly was held in autumn, 
and over this the emperor presided in person. This was a 
kind of placitum or parlamentum, in which the subjects to 
be discussed in the great national assembly were prepared. 

What Charles performed for the administration of the 
state was scarcely less important. He divided the kingdom 
into districts or legations, and these legations into counties. 
Unable to destroy the custom now rooted, of considering 
the offices of dukes and counts as property, he at any rate 
endeavoured to weaken the tyranny resulting from it. He 
created an institution of which, they say, the legislation of 
the Lombards offered him the example ; that of envoys or 
royal commissioners (Missi dominici,) charged with visiting 
the legations every three months, and with holding pleas 
in them, in which all the persons of note in every district 
were obliged to attend, and which formed by turns admi- 
nistrative councils, and assizes of justice. 

The establishment of these assizes served as a palliative 
to the evils arising from the usurpation of justice by the 
lords, and even tended to restore to the crown this fine 
prerogative. Charles thus levelled the first blow at the 
numerous abuses introduced in preceding centuries ; but, 

* De Orel. pal. cap. xxx. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION". 35 

through the dread of giving men's minds too rude a shock, 
he was constrained to hold a measured course, and to leave 
a part of the disorders uncorrected. The people, however, 
were satisfied, and hailed their sovereign with the title of 
benefactor. " Since the establishment of the lordships," 
says Thouret, >' they had so lost all idea of their rights 
" and dignity, as to be disposed to receive as a favour aU 
" the ill which one was kind enough not to do them*." 

The church property, confiscated by Charles Martel and 
given up to his officers, was then the subject of perpetual 
disputes and serious embarrassments. The clergy never 
ceased to claim, and the nobility to refuse, its restoration. 
Pepin had confirmed the possession of this property for 
life, subject to a rent to the former proprietors, which 
was called prScaire ; but by this measure he only suspended 
the quarrel. 

The precaire w r as converted by Charlemagne into tithe ; 
the canons, which ordained the election of bishops by the 
people and clergy, were restored to vigour ; ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction was extended, the privilege of clerkship, that 
is, of having on no occasion any other judge than the 
bishop, was confirmed ; and the clergy satisfied — left their 
property to those who were in possession of it. 

Thus arose the impost of tithe, which was in the end 
extended to so many other domains, of which the title to 
possession was not marked by the same illegitimate 
character. 

As to Charlemagne, nature seemed exhausted in the 
creation of such a man in such an age. We henceforward 
see nothing but imbecility and folly. The empire and 
France were successively wrested from his feeble posterity, 
and a new revolution finally deprived them of the crown 
itself, as it had before been taken from the race of Clovis. 

* Abrege ties Revolutions, &c. 

D2 



36 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

§ 16. Capitularies. 

These were the laws enacted by the national assemblies? 
convoked under Charlemagne and his successors. They 
were promulgated in the emperor's name, but the neces- 
sity of the national assent for giving them the force of law 
is formally expressed : Lex consensu populi fit et constitu- 
tion regis is the language of these acts. We see in the 
sequel that Charlemagne had reserved to himself the right 
of giving a provisional execution to certain capitularies ; 
but such did not become definitive laws, until they had 
received the sanction of the Champ de Mai. 

At first, as we have seen, each distinct portion of the 
population preserved its peculiar laws. The Roman, Salic, 
and Burgundian were equally maintained and respected. 
But the face of society undergoing a gradual change, legis- 
lation necessarily experienced a similar metamorphosis. 
In time, a kind of confusion was produced between the 
various laws, like that which prevailed among the different 
races of men who peopled the soil. Usages, adapted to the 
new state, often superseded even the laws. It was the 
spirit indeed of ancient legislation, rather than that legis- 
lation itself, which now governed the people. 

The capitularies were political, administrative, eccle- 
siastical, or civil : they were framed for completing what 
yet subsisted of the sum of ancient legislatidn, and in some 
measure replaced it. 

We would observe, that the direct object of these new 
laws, being in general the suppression of abuses introduced 
under the first race ; that a system yet more pernicious 
being brought in under the second, through the imbecility 
of the monarch and encroachments of the great ; that 
feudal usages being every where established as fiefs ex- 
tended, the capitularies necessarily relaxed in vigour, and 
fell to decay. Under the third race they sunk into oblivion : 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 37 

in an age when men knew no longer how to read or write, 
the only laws known were the caprices of the most power- 
ful. The institutions of Theodosius, of Clovis, of Char- 
lemagne, all sunk into a common abyss. Customs, in the 
intervals of tranquillity spared from the ravages of the 
sword, were introduced in their place. 

§ 17. Charles the Bald. 

The institutions of Charlemagne had not produced a 
revolution sufficiently complete, and barbarism had made 
too much progress for the new order of things to remain 
permanent, if genius ceased to wield the sceptre. The 
people, for a moment rescued from their degraded state, 
could not but fall into it again when no longer supported 
by their monarch. " In the age we are describing, if the 
" prince were ambitious and enterprising, he necessarily, 
" by crushing the great, rendered himself a despot ; if 
" weak and spiritless, the great, in ruling him, as neces- 
" sarily re-established over the people the yoke of their 
" ancient privileges*." 

Louis, surnamed the Debonair, son of the great Charles, 
was a species of crowned monk. He armed equally against 
him both the formidable orders which his two predecessors 
had contrived so well to manage and restrain. Weak and 
suspicious, he dreaded and soon ceased to convoke those 
assemblies to which his father had gloriously yielded a 
share of his authority. He permitted the grandees to be- 
come the oppressors of the people, and even of the clergy ; 
while in his own person he suffered the royal authority to 
be degraded. In fine, every thing went to decay under his 
administration. 

During the wars which desolated France at the death 
of Louis, a change was introduced which proved nothing 
less than the forerunner of a total revolution. Freemen 

* Thourct, p. 96. 



38 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

were left at liberty to choose their lord between the king 
and his grandees : this was confirmed by a treaty entered 
into between the three brothers after the famous battle 
of Fontenay. The inevitable consequence of which was, 
that since the sceptre could no longer afford protection, the 
subjects passed to a more profitable vassalage. And thus 
the holders of fiefs saw every day augment their power, the 
king, his decline. 

Things being in this state, but one step more remained 
for Charles the Bald. 

Hitherto neither the fiefs nor great offices had ever been 
alienated in perpetuity, although violence or weakness had 
sometimes perpetuated the possession of a few. Charles 
at first declared that the fiefs should be given to the pos- 
sessor's children : he was soon obliged to apply this rule 
to the office of count. The counts, delegates of the king, 
came in a little time to be on a footing with the owners of 
fiefs, and their charge to be converted into a real lordship. 
Henceforward we see nothing but a monarch decorated 
with the vain title of lord paramount, and vassals in pos- 
session of all the rights of sovereign power. The autho- 
rity of the king ceasing to be immediate, was now nothing 
more than a shadow which a breath could dissipate. His 
capitularies and envoys became the sport of ridicule. The 
revolution was consummated, and the feudal government 
established. 

§ 18. Hugh Capet. (10th century). 

The posterity of Pepin continued to wield the sceptre a 
century after Charles the Bald. A Louis and a Carloman 
sat on the throne, as it had before been filled by a Clovis 
and Childeric. Yet a change of dynasty was a no less 
necessary consequence of the political order recently esta- 
tablished. "The inheritance of the fiefs and the general 
" establishment of arriere fiefs, extinguished the political 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 39 

" and formed a feudal government. Instead of that pro- 
" digious multitude of vassals, who were formerly under 
" the king, there were now a few only, on whom the 
" others depended. The kings had scarce any longer a 
" direct authority ; a power, which was to pass through so 
" many and through such great powers, either stopped or 
" was lost before it reached its term. Those great vassals 
" would no longer obey ; and they even made use of their 
" arriere-vassals to withdraw their obedience. The kings 
" deprived of their demesnes, and reduced to the cities of 
" Rheims and Laon, were left exposed to their mercy; 
" the tree stretched out its branches too far, and the head 
61 was withered. The kingdom found itself without a 
" demesne, as the empire is at present. The crown was 
" therefore given to one of the most potent vassals *" 

Whether it was by the success of his arms, or with the 
consent of a national assembly, that the Duke of France 
mounted the throne in place of the descendant of Charle- 
magne, uncle of the last king, is a point of history still 
obscure. But it is probable that at first acknowledged 
king by the vassals of his own fief, his title was afterwards 
confirmed by the tacit consent of the other great pro- 
prietors ; who, only intent on establishing full sovereignty 
in their respective fiefs, viewed with a degree of indifference 
a crown, so destitute of strength as to be unable to exact 
from them even the semblance of feudal homage. 

Before this revolution, and it is worthy our attention, 
the crown had been at once hereditary and elective ; here- 
ditary, inasmuch as the king was chosen in the same 
family ; elective, since the choice was confined to the 
children of the deceased monarch f. The occupation of 

* Mont. lib. xxxi. cap. 30. 
f The accession of Pepin to the prejudice of Childeric, the lawful so- 
vereign, must be here excepted. See § xiv. 



40 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



the throne by the master of one of the fiefs composing 
France, to the exclusion of the lawful heir, introduced new 
principles in relation to the crown. It-is evident that all 
the equals of Hugh, that is, all the possessors of great fiefs, 
enjoyed equal rights with himself, and as a consequence, 
that the crown might have become elective among the 
great vassals ; that, in fine, France may have seen a con- 
stitution established, similar to that of which the remnants 
yet govern the empire. 

The ability and courage which distinguished the first 
monarchs of this race, the institutions, eminently national, 
by means of which some of them hastened to relieve the 
people, probably prevented the settlement of such an order 
of succession. Public gratitude, in fact, soon perpetuated 
in their favour the ancient rule which fixed the crown in 
the royal race ; and strong themselves in this support, they 
were able to render triumphant over feudal anarchy, at 
first their own rights, and finally those of their subjects. 

But how was established the principle of direct suc- 
cession, and in the order of primogeniture which has since 
prevailed without exception ? It was in the nature of fiefs 
precarious or for life, not to be liable to division. Ren- 
dered perpetual, they necessarily preserved this character, 
at first, because it had before existed ; afterwards, because 
the service attached to possession made it an almost neces- 
sary consequence. The right of seniority then resulted 
from the perpetuity of fiefs. Now royalty at this period 
was nothing but the possession of a fief. Analogy intro- 
duced the principle of primogeniture with regard to the 
crown, and the experience of the people has since rendered 
it a sacred and constitutive law of the monarchy. 

§ 19. Feudal Government. 
We have now to show the consequences of what we have 
just described, and to point out the basis of that feudal 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 41 

government, which during three centuries weighed on our 
country. 

The king was lord paramount of all the lands in his 
kingdom, and held but of God and his sword. His imme- 
diate vassals were in their turn, lords paramount of the 
nobles whose domains held of their fief ; and these last, 
again, of that unhappy multitude which formed the lowest 
order in the state. In this manner, from the king down 
to the lowest subject, all were enveloped in the folds of 
feudal tenure. 

The great vassals were those lords who, under the title of 
dukes, had usurped extensive provinces, or such of the an- 
cient officers of the crown, as having once rendered their 
counties independent, had afterwards enlarged them by 
conquest. 

The nobles of the second rank were termed barons, and 
villains, the inhabitants of the country, always the first vic- 
tims of systematic robbery. 

But as in human affairs, even where the greatest disor- 
der ; prevails, some vestiges of reason still remain, we see 
usages arise, and rules established, which diminished, 
though in a slight degree, the evils of this social order, 
Thus reciprocal obligations arose between the lord and 
vassal. The nature and duration of service, which the 
latter owed the former, were fixed according to circum- 
stances. Some limits to the authority and rights of the 
lord, were equally confirmed by time and custom. Duties 
also, as in every state of legislation existed, because there 
were rights, and the violation of these duties was punished, 
on the part of the vassal, by the loss of his fief; on that of 
the lord, by the forfeiture of his rank of lord paramount. 
But let us confine ourselves to what more particularly re- 
lates to the political state of France at this period. 

The king, as lord paramount of the great vassals, had 
merely the right of calling them to the common defence of 



42 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

the territory, and even this right was sometimes disputed. 
As possessor of a fief, he had no authority except over the 
vassals who held of it — nay, if an under fief devolved to 
him, he could become the vassal of a person, to whom he 
was, as king, lord-paramount. 

It was held as a feudal principle that the lord had a right 
only over his own vassal, none over the under vassals ; that 
is, over all those who held of this vassal. This principle 
had rendered the king sovereign of the comparative few 
only who held immediately of him, leaving all his subjects 
under the real domination of those few. 

The great feudatories and barons armed their vassals, and 
marched with banners displayed, to exercise acts of ven- 
geance, or of justice, to conquer or pillage. They coined 
money, held superior courts, in which they decided feudal 
points, and assizes where they pronounced according to the 
jurisprudence which has bequeathed us the duel : the 

JUDGMENT OF GOD. 

§ XX. The Church. 

Under the first race, the bishops ranked on an equality 
with the leudes: at the commencement of the second, they 
preceded the great. When the feudal government was es- 
tablished, either of their own accord or by compulsion, they 
descended into the second rank, and were obliged to ac- 
knowledge a lord paramount. Thenceforward, subjected to 
all the duties of vassalage, they discharged alike the service 
of fleas and arms. Either in person, or by their lieutenant, 
they marched their tenants to the field under the banners 
of their superior lord, and took their seats in his court for 
the administration of justice. 

We may suppose that these personages, to whom what 
knowledge and virtue then prevailed was almost wholly 
confined, were generally placed by the king and his great 
feudatories, on a footing with their barons ; that is, with 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 43 

their immediate vassals. This, as the following pages 
will show, is a circumstance of some importance. It ex- 
plains the origin of ecclesiastical peerages. 

The high clergy were gradually reduced to a state of de- 
basement, always the forerunner of disorder. Absurd 
superstitions were then associated with doctrine ; disci- 
pline was relaxed ; the canons were forgotten ; the hand 
destined to confer benediction, wielded the sword. Some 
sought in cloisters a shelter against military oppression ; 
and while the labours of a part cultivated and enriched the 
soil, the vigils of others discovered and prepared those trea- 
sures of ancient literature, which were destined to restore 
the reign of civilization. 

We must not forget to add, that it was at this period, 
when justice was scarcely administered at all, when a con- 
tinual struggle was kept up between the feudal officers 
charged to announce their masters' laws, and the bailiffs, 
whom the kings opposed to them ; that the church estab- 
lished and extended that jurisdiction, which, by the most 
monstrous abuse, made the pope a kind of sovereign judge 
in the kingdom. 

§ XXI. Communes. 
It would be difficult to draw a correct picture of the situa- 
tion of France, at the period to which we are advanced. 
A king, whose sway extends not beyond the limits of his 
fief. A crowd of avaricious and overbearing despots, 
divide the country into as many petty sovereignties — 
every where ravage it with their armed men, and through- 
out extinguish all commerce and industry. The clergy are 
degraded. The people — almost every individual not of 
noble rank, is a serf ; and the serf bends beneath the hard 
and ignominious yoke of slavery. The only occupations in 
vogue, are those of fighting, burning heretics, and fasting. 
Laws, administration and police, lie at the caprice of the 
powerful, and their sword decides every thing. 



44 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

Such are the ages of feudality. Those who look at 
chivalry only, contemplate its poetic side, and are not 
struck with the sad reality of a vast population reduced to 
slavery and wretchedness. Though to do it justice, this in- 
stitution by lessening the violence of rapine, and introduc- 
ing some ideas of honour, which tended to its suppression, 
was so far serviceable to humanity. 

The excess of the evil at length produced its own re- 
medy. As no ideas of order and government prevailed, 
plunder alone could contribute to the enterprises, or to the 
subsistence even, of the lords. Despising legal rights, they 
organized at the head of their men at arms, a system of ar- 
bitrary contributions, which put the finishing stroke to the 
distress of the country, but from which soon after arose its 
deliverance. 

The royal domains being a prey to the same violence, 
the king, sensible of his inability to terminate it of himself, 
at length conceived the idea of calling on the people in their 
own defence. He made them contribute ; but this was 
definitively, and for putting a period to their misfortunes. 
He sold them the right, which nature and society gave, 
that of uniting together to repel unjust aggressions, and 
for establishing regulations of police. This is what is 
termed the right of commune or corporation. 

The name of Louis the Fat is for ever famous in our 
annals, as being the prince to whom the first charters of 
freedom, and the creation of communes are referred^ 
Whether in this measure he had really the good of his sub- 
jects at heart, or only devised it to draw money from their 
pockets, it is difficult to determine ; but even in the latter 
case, says Mably, " since he did not take it without grant-. 
" ing something in return, he would still deserve our 
praises # ." 

% Abbe Mably. Observations sur I'Histoire de France, torn. iL 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 



45 



These charters are the most interesting monuments of 
our history. They are the first triumphs of the spirit of 
Civilization over barbarism : and while they bring to light 
*he disastrous ages in which they arose, we see in them the 
cradle of our industry, arts, and liberties. 

Communes multiplied rapidly, because the lord, seeing 
no other means of obtaining money, granted charters also. 
They formed towns. They had a right to choose magis- 
trates, to raise companies of militia, guard their fortifica- 
tions, and repel force by force. The king was on some oc- 
casions guarantee of the conventions entered into between 
the lord and his freemen ; then mediator of their dif- 
ferences ; and, finally, sole master of both. 

All this powerfully contributed to neutralize the force of 
the feudal government. 

§ 22. Philip Augustus. 

The pilgrim, who drew all the west to the tomb of Jesus 
Christ, changed the face of Europe, and gave anew blow 
to the institutions of feudality. 

The crusades ruined several great vassals, and restored 
the power of kings, the natural chiefs of these expeditions. 
They worked a kind of renovation on the barons of Chris- 
tianity. And besides these effects, it has escaped notice, 
how much influence a residence in the East must have had 
on the manners and ideas of men, and how much the spec- 
tacle of the despotism of the caliphs, and blind obedience 
of their subjects, must have contributed to ground the 
authority of the Christian princes. 

Philip Augustus may, in some respects, be considered the 
first King of France of the third race. He was indebted 
for the establishment of his power to the following circum- 
stance. 

The king of England was then a vassal of the French 
crown, for several fiefs which he held in the kingdom. 



46 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

John, surnamed Lackland, whose great charter has ren- 
dered his name immortal, was at this time sovereign of 
England. Arraigned as the murderer of his nephew Ar- 
thur, Duke of Britany, he was cited before the tribunal 
of the great vassals of the French crown. He refused to 
appear. The tribunal passed a decree, confiscating all his 
domains: the great vassals themselves assisted Philip in 
carrying this famous decree into execution ; and the king, 
in acquiring Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, Poitou, 
Vermandois, Auvergne, and Artois, ceased to be on a foot- 
ing with his powerful vassals, gained the means of keep- 
ing an army on foot, and, through this great innovation, 
was able to humble their pride and reduce their power. 

We have now before us a subject, one of the most inte- 
resting connected with the ancient public law of our 
country. 

§ 23. Peers. 

From the earliest ages of the monarchy a maxim pre- 
vailed, that each individual ought to be judged by his peers. 
The origin of this is discoverable in that other maxim of 
the German nations, that every one should be tried accord- 
ing to his own law. The first, indeed, appears a natural 
consequence of the second. 

Some traces of this principle still survived in the times 
we treat of, when scarcely any other rule of justice was 
known than the will of the strongest. In fact, the noble- 
man who found himself invested with the functions of 
judge, as a consequence of his possessing a few towers be- 
girt with a ditch, was necessarily obliged to call those to 
his assistance, who were competent to take cognizance of 
the different causes submitted to his decision. Thus, in 
his pleas, his vassal-nobles were obliged to sit, when feudal 
matters were agitated — bishops or abbots, when ecclesias- 
tical affairs ; and after the establishment of the communes, 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 47 

when civil points were the subjects of discussion, the in- 
habitants of those communes. 

It was then a principle we repeat, frequently violated, 
it is true, but nevertheless fundamental, that every man 
had a right to a tribunal composed of his peers, or at least 
sufficiently furnished with his peers, as the old treatises ex- 
press it. 

But this term must also be considered in another point 
of view. 

It seems, that at a very early period, they called peers of 
a lordship, the vassals who held of it simply and imme- 
diately, who were of the same rank, and were bound to the 
same duties. They were peers or equals, not of their lord, 
but with respect to each other. 

Under the first descendants of Hugh Capet, the great 
vassals were the peers of the first of all lordships — the 
crown. This title belonged to them all alike, since all had 
alike sworn faith and homage to the king. But the king 
also possessed a fief; and this circumstance, from the 
course of events or regal policy, led to a change of great 
importance. It happened that the immediate vassals of 
the royal fief found themselves placed in the rank of im- 
mediate vassals of the crown, because there was no longer 
any intermediate order between them and the king. As such, 
therefore, they formed part of the monarch's court of pleas. 
The great vassals, who also formed part of this court, of- 
fended at being placed on an equality with the simple 
barons of the royal fief, sometimes gave vent to their indig- 
nation, and refused to sit with them. But the king's will 
finally triumphed over their resistance, and under Saint 
Louis it was held as fixed, that the very circumstance of 
holding immediately of the crown, constituted the being a 
peer. We read the following passage, in a letter written 
by this monarch to the chapter of Beauvais : Quod episco- 
pus Bellovacensis in baronia, et in feodum, hommagii ligii 



48 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

de nobis teneat apud Bellovacenses, et quod par sit ex Ed 
Francis # . 

We would observe, however, that the great vassals alone 
formed, with the king, the court of peers of the crown ; that 
is, the only court which could take cognizance of their 
persons and differences ; that the barons naturally com- 
posed the court of royal pleas, whose business only lay with 
the vassals of the royal fief, and of which the jurisdiction 
did not extend beyond this fief ; but that, by a degradation 
in the dignity of the first, the two courts came to form but 
one only, seized of their respective attributes, and called by 
turns, court of peers, of the king, or of France. Again, a 
distinction existed between the equal members of this tri- 
bunal. The first, the true peers, were amenable to it only 
so far as the titularies of the great fiefs were summoned 
there, or in other words, only so far as it was sufficiently 
furnished with peers f. 

Here two interesting questions occur. When did the 
institution of peers become a permanent establishment? 
When was the number of peers reduced to twelve ? 

" How is it that we have not reflected," says a writer on 
this subject, " that in a country, which had neither laws 
" nor legislative power, and in which the instability of 
" men's minds prepared and produced new revolutions 
" without intermission, the institution of twelve peers 
" must resemble the other establishments of that period, 
" which were formed by hazard, in a slow and almost im- 
" perceptible manner, and were, at length, found wholly 
" established on a certain occasion, without its being pos- 
" sible to fix the precise period of their birth J." 

Let us not, then, abandon ourselves to fruitless inquiries 
for fixing a date which has, perhaps, no precise existence. 

* Marlot, Hist. Metrop. Rem.tom. ii. p. 517. 

*i* Du Tillet, des Pairs, p. 373. 

J Mably, Ohserv.surlHistoire de France, tom.il. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 49 

It is in fact a very vague point, since, as we have already 
seen, the peer must in some degree be considered in the 
light of two distinct persons, as great vassal of the crown, 
and member of the king's court — a distinction which the 
chronicles have not attended to. 

The President Henault is of opinion, that there were six 
lay peerages, since there were six great fiefs held imme- 
diately of the crown. Nothing more probable. 

These peerages were, the duchies of Normandy, Bur- 
gundy, and Guyenne ; the counties of Flanders, Toulouse, 
and Champagne. 

We would thus explain the origin of ecclesiastical peers. 
We have seen what was the rank of the clergy under the 
first and second race. They then sat in the assemblies 
before the nobility, and nothing of importance was trans- 
acted without the concurrence of their principal members. 
Under the third race, this splendour very much declined ; 
but the memory, with some traces of it, yet subsisted : 
the clergy were still summoned to the pleas of the lords. 

The ecclesiastics, we may conceive, would be more will- 
ingly admitted into the king's court, from that policy 
which necessarily led him to restore the church to its for- 
mer state, in order to oppose it more successfully to the 
nobility. In that court, therefore, they still sat on an 
equality with the barons. 

When the king was constrained to confirm the establish- 
ment of the six great lay peers, he probably sought to 
weaken the influence of this new power, by associating to 
it six other peers, whose titles should be derived from the 
crown. These would naturally be chosen from among the 
vassals of the royal fief, composing the king's court ; but 
the distance between the barons and the great feudatories 
was too great to admit of choosing the first, and associat- 
ing them with the second. The bishops, members of the 
same court, were not, it is true, as immediate vassals of 

Vol. I. E 



50 GOVERNMENT OP FRANCE 

the royal fief, of superior rank to the barons ; but ancient 
usage had placed them in another class. They could rank 
on terms of equality with those whom they had once pre- 
ceded. Hence, then, the creation of six ecclesiastical peers, 
namely, the bishops of Rheims, Beauvais, Langres, Noyon, 
Chalons, and Laon. 

% 24. St. Louis. 

This monarch, saint before God, and so great before 
men, powerfully contributed to the destruction of the feudal 
edifice. By means of his civil institutions, he accomplished 
what Philip Augustus had done by arms. He abolished 
the use of the judicial combat in his domains, and in lieu 
of the appeal by combat, ordained that the litigant who 
thought himself wronged by the sentence of a court, should 
have recourse to a superior jurisdiction. The lords gradu- 
ally adopted this usage, and the custom of appealing from 
the vassal to the lord paramount, was thus established. 
Now, as the king was supreme lord paramount of all, ap- 
peals arrived in regular gradation up to his court, and thus 
was the supreme administration of justice once more re- 
stored to the crown. 

To facilitate these appeals, great tribunals, called baili- 
wicks, were afterwards instituted. The bailiffs enjoyed a 
jurisdiction imposing from its extent ; and to be able to 
enforce their decisions, were at the same time intrusted 
with the command of the militia. They appointed royal 
cases, that is, particular cases, of which the seignorial 
judges could not take cognizance. These cases always re- 
mained somewhat vague, and it was this which chiefly pro- 
moted the encroachments of the royal judge on the jurisdic- 
tion of the nobles. 

From the character of sovereign judge, which the king 
had reconquered, there was but one step more to that of 
legislator. Louis brought the French to acknowledge this 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 51 

title in him, by acting with great moderation, and by regu- 
lating that only by general laws, of which all France com- 
plained. His successors were able to advance more boldly. 
Philip the Fair, in ascending the throne, had without dis- 
pute the right of making laws for the whole kingdom. 
The exercise of this prerogative was at first necessarily 
limited, but in the end could not but complete the ruin of 
the feudal government. 

§ 25. Philip the Fair. (14th century.) 

This is one of the most remarkable reigns in the history 
of our monarchy. Now it is that we see the scattered and 
confused elements of the government of France re-united, 
re-organized to a certain point for forming a constitution, 
of which the principles, in the sequel, will be seen fre- 
quently neglected through the carelessness of the people, 
disowned through the folly of ministers, violated by the 
despotism of the court. 

Philip was endowed by nature with a profound genius, a 
firm character, and an ambitious soul. Like his predeces- 
sors, he wished to reduce the great vassals ; but his policy 
was the less generous, since the object of it was to domi- 
neer equally over all his subjects. 

The privilege which still supported the lords, was that of 
coining money. The frequent alterations they made in the 
specie, brought them considerable sums; and as it was a 
scourge to the people, they sometimes sold them the renun- 
ciation of this pernicious prerogative. The annual sums 
paid for preventing operations of this kind were termed 
monneages. 

Philip, after having, in the commencement of his reign, 
frequently changed the specie and altered its value in a 
manner ruinous to the nation, made some amends for the 
mischief he had done by issuing a new coinage, and de- 
claring, that all those who brought back the old specie 

E 2 



52 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



should be indemnified for their loss. He went farther. 
Sure of being supported by public gratitude, he ordered 
that for the future, one of his officers should watch over 
the coinage of every seigneurial mint; he next, under 
various pretexts, suspended the right of coining any money 
except that of the crown ; he then gave currency to this 
throughout the kingdom, and, finally, proclaimed a general 
prohibition against the fabrication of specie in any other 
place than the royal mint. 

The nobles were too weak to resist openly. They sub- 
mitted ; and thus was the source dried up, from whence 
they could yet derive any degree of power. They were 
no longer able to keep in pay any formidable bodies of 
troops, and when the king, soon after, prohibited them 
from disturbing the public peace by waging private war, 
they were again obliged to bend. 

The total fall of the feudal government must be placed 
under the sons of Philip the Fair ; but the reign of this 
prince himself, is yet deserving our attention. 

§ 26. The Parliament*. 

What particularly characterizes the history of our public 
law is a series of facts which attest, that our country has 
never been governed by an absolute will ; and that authority 
has at all times been dependent for support on the acces- 
sion of at least one portion or class of subjects. This as- 

* The parliaments of France were sovereign courts of justice. That 
of Paris was the chief. It was divided into eight chambers. " The 
" grand chamber, where causes of audience were pleaded ; the chamber 
" of written law ; the chamber of council ; the Tournelle Criminelle, for 
" judging- criminal affairs ; the Tournelle Civile, in aid of the grand 
" chamber • and three chambers of inquests, in which processes were 
" adjudged in writing. Besides these, there were the chamber of vaca- 
" tions, and those of requests. In 1771, the king thought fit to branch 
'• the parliament of Paris into six different parliaments, under the deno- 
" mination of superior courts, each parliament having a similar jurisdic- 
" tion." — Encyc. Art. Parl. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 53 

sertion, of which the justice will be readily acknowledged, 
should be held constantly in view, while surveying the his- 
tory of latter ages. Almost every thing there appears 
under a different aspect. 

No historical point has been so much debated as that of 
the origin of parliament. None has given rise to so many 
discussions. Considered by turns as a court of justice or a 
political body, each has had his system, according as he 
wished to attribute or deny to it a greater or less degree 
of importance. The question, rarely examined with im- 
partiality, far from being cleared up, is only left the more 
obscure by these inquiries. 

Let us follow with fidelity the course we have adopted. 
Charlemagne, it has been seen, instituted two kinds of as- 
semblies ; 1st. The Champ de Mai, which was no other than 
the ancient Champ de Mars, regulated ; 2d. The Placitum, 
or Parlamentum, which differed little from the council of 
leudes under the first race. 

The first ceased with the establishment of the feudal 
system ; the second continued in being, and formed that to 
which we have before alluded as the king's court, or court 
of royal pleas *. But here another distinction occurs. When 
St. Louis abolished the jurisprudence of the barbarous 
ages, new forms of procedure were naturally introduced. 
It became necessary to hear and confront witnesses, to ex- 
amine records, and weigh arguments. It was to be ex- 
pected that those who knew only to handle the sword 
would thenceforward fall into the second rank ; while the 
lower clergy, and members of the communes, the only men 
of the age at all enlightened, would as necessarily take 
some share in the conduct of affairs. This, in fact, hap- 
pened, and led to a remarkable change. For the barons, 
keeping aloof from a court into which clerks and villains 
were admitted, there thence arose, in some measure, two 

* See $ 23. 



54 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

tribunals in one body. This body, composed as we have 
described it, and presided over by a royal officer, formed 
the court of the palace, and could take cognizance of most 
causes. In some instances, the concurrence of the king 
and his ordinary assessors was required ; and it then formed 
the court of royal pleas*. 

The first occurred more frequently every successive reign ; 
the second daily became more rare. The assizes of the 
first were termed parliaments, a title which they still re- 
tained when they had become nearly permanent : the ses- 
sions of the second appear to have given rise to the usage 
of beds of justice. 

Philip the Fair, by a famous ordinance promulgated in 
1302, made the court sedentary at Paris, and assigned it 
two assizes annually : Propter commodum subditorum nos- 
trorum et expeditionem causarum proponimus or dinar e ; 
quod duo Par lame nt a Parisiis tenebuntur in anno, are the 
words of this ordinance. 

In this manner, then, the parliament replaced the king's 
court, or rather a section of the king's court. By this title 
it became the court of peers, when the peers attended. 
We shall see, in the sequel, what modifications were brought 
about by time, in the existence of this celebrated body. 

§ 27. The States-General. 

Those who maintain parliaments to have been the real 
states-general of the nation, accumulate quotation on quo- 
tation to attest a fact which proves nothing, — that the par- 
liament had really superseded the ancient king's court. 
This is indisputable ; but the object more particularly in 
view with these writers is to prove, that the king's court 
could be assimilated to the first national assemblies. Now, 
every thing contradicts this supposition. 

* Le Comte d& Buat, des Originesy torn. i. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 55 

Every thing proves, that the presence of the third class 
of the nation was always necessary for constituting a na- 
tional assembly. The early ages of our history, the reign 
of Charlemagne, and the period under consideration, alike 
attest it. During the time that this class may be said to 
have had no political existence, there were many councils 
of leudes or barons, many placita or parlamenta, but no 
national assembly ; and the existence of these councils only 
proves what we have before advanced, that the assent of a 
greater or less number of Frenchmen was always necessary 
to change into law the expression of the sovereign's will. 

When the liberty of every one disappeared, who could 
not be ranked among the nobility or clergy, the national 
assemblies disappeared also. They returned with the free- 
dom of the communes. 

Philip the Fair, engaged in one of those struggles with 
the sovereign pontiff, which, some centuries ago, shook the 
throne of kings, thought it necessary to rally round him 
the whole strength of the nation, for sustaining the honour 
and rights of his crown against the arrogance of Boniface 
VII. He formed, therefore, in 1301, in the church of Notre 
Dame at Paris, a national assembly, one of those since 
known under the name of states-general. The three orders 
composing the French nation, the clergy, nobility, and third 
estate, were there represented by deputies. This, without 
contradiction, is the most august of all the ancient insti- 
tutions of France, and the more worthy our notice, since, 
by a singular coincidence, it is so closely connected with 
the origin and subversion of the monarchy. In reading 
our history, we experience continual regret, that, no less 
by the government than the states themselves, it has been 
so rarely understood. 



56 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

§ 28. Assemblies of Notables. 

The formation of the states required the concurrence of 
the people : the government every year making fresh ad- 
vances to absolute power, dreaded more and more the call- 
ing them to the election of assemblies, that would natu- 
rally be reminded of their ancient supremacy. 

An image, therefore, of the states-general was formed, 
called the assembly of notables. The deputies to this body 
were chosen by the king. 

There is little remarkable in the composition of these 
assemblies, except the introduction into them of a fourth 
order, if such it may be termed. This was the magistracy; 
who had formed no part of the states-general, because the 
nobility would not receive them into their ranks, and they 
would not associate with the third estate. 

The assemblies of notables convoked in France have left 
no remarkable monument of their existence. They were 
never useful, because they were a manifest alteration of 
the primitive constitution of the monarchy # . 



* An assembly of notables was convoked by Francis I., A.D. 1527, to 
determine the validity of that article of the treaty of Madrid, by which he 
had engaged to resign to the Emperor the duchy of Burgundy, and other 
lordships. This assembly was composed of the lords and great officers 
of the king's household, of three cardinals, twenty archbishops and bishops, 
the first presidents of the parliaments of Toulouse, Rouen, and Dijon, a 
president of the parliament of Grenoble, the second president of the par- 
liament of Rouen, and the fourth president of the parliament of Bour- 
deaux; of the provost of merchants and the four sheriffs of Paris, three 
counsellors of the parliament of Toulouse, two of the parliament of 
Bourdeaux, one of that of Rouen, one of that of Dijon, two of the par- 
liament of Grenoble, and two of the parliament of Aix.— Mably, lib. vii. 
c. 2. 

An assembly of the same description was held in the parliament after 
the battle of St. Quentin, and others at subsequent periods. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION'. 57 

§ 29. Beds of Justice. 

Their origin may be referred, as we have seen, to the 
revolution which, towards the reign of Philip the Fair, 
took place in the king's court, and from which arose the 
parliament. The king and his barons ceased to form an 
ordinary part of this court, but took their seats therein on 
occasions of importance, when the usual tribunal was not 
competent to decide alone. 

When the court of parliament arrogated to itself that 
political influence which, as a check upon the royal autho- 
rity, would necessarily devolve on a body of some kind ; 
these extraordinary sessions changed their object, and were 
principally intended to make the opposition of the magis- 
trates bend before the imposing apparel of regal state ; 
though the very name of beds of justice, which they pre- 
served, might have recalled the end of their original in- 
stitution. 

In beds of justice, a powerful instrument was devised 
for braving the public voice, and contemning the counsels 
of the prudent. They became one of the most ordinarry 
resorts of inexperienced and weak ministers : they gave a 
death-blow to the constitution, and rendered the govern- 
ment absolute. 

Charles the Wise, in particular, established the usage of 
beds of justice ; and the nation, which had seen nothing 
but troubles arise from the frequent formation of the states 
under the preceding reign, thought it perceived in them a 
sufficient resemblance to those famous assemblies. The 
politic monarch, for his part, found in them a much surer 
means of accomplishing his views, without having recourse 
to violence. 



58 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE, 

§ 30. States General, John the Second. 

The calamities of France commenced with the Valois. 
Nearly all the princes who bore this name were incapable 
or unfortunate. The kingdom was on the point of falling 
into the power of the English under the first branch, and 
into that of the Spaniards, under the second. Battles lost 
and kings captive, dissensions and massacres, are the most 
prominent features in the history of this period. 

The principle of the salic law excluding women from 
the crown, had received a fresh sanction at the accession of 
Philip de Valois. It would appear also, that from this 
reign might be dated another fundamental law, which, al- 
though too often overlooked and disowned by Philip and 
his successors, the people had nevertheless a right to claim 
the execution of. We mean the law which requires that the 
impost should receive the assent of a national assembly. 

John, desirous not to excite discontent in the nation, as 
his father had done, convoked the states in 1355 ; but fol- 
lowed the practice adopted under certain circumstances by 
his predecessors. There were two assemblies. The states 
of the langue d'Oyl were convoked at Paris ; those of the 
langue d'Oc, beyond the Loire. The government thinking 
by this division, the more easily to manage them. 

The bills passed by these states, and converted into or- 
dinances, are of some celebrity. Among the most import- 
ant, it was enacted that three deputies from each of the 
three orders, should form a council charged with represent- 
ing the assembly, after its dissolution, at the king's court. 
The king engaged himself to consult them in every import- 
ant affair, and especially when subjects relating to peace or 
truce were agitated. 

Three deputies, named elect, having under their superin- 
tendency the officers charged with the receipt of the aid 
granted, were sent into each bailiwick. The money was to 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 59 

be sent to Paris, and deposited in the hands of receivers- 
general, who were also placed under the inspection of nine 
commissioners. 

The elect and officers of aids took an oath not to disburse 
any sum of money except in the payment of the troops, to 
resist the illegal orders of the king or his council, and to 
repel force by force. 

It was agreed that if the king did not observe these ar- 
ticles, the subsidy granted him should have no effect ; that 
no resolution should be adopted, except the opinions of the 
nine commissioners were unanimous, and that the parlia- 
ment should be called to reconcile their differences. 

We have only to read these articles to appreciate their 
importance. They seemed destined to lay the foundations 
of a government in which the nation was to act an useful 
and permanent part. An inquiry into the causes that pre- 
vented the establishment of such a government at this pe- 
riod, of a constitution composed of powers duly balanced, 
would prove one of the most interesting subjects our annals 
afford : but the limits we have prescribed ourselves will 
not permit such an investigation. We will merely observe, 
amid the series of troubles which agitated the kingdom 
from the accession of John to his death, the three principal 
phases which but too often mark revolutions, liberty, an- 
archy, and despotism. 

The states of 1355 had enjoyed a noble independence, 
and re-established the nation in its most valuable rights ; 
but those which met during the monarch's captivity and 
the administration of the dauphin, were marked by dis- 
order. The people, excited by the spirit of faction, com- 
mitted every kind of excess. Kings harangued them, and 
the Jacquerie signalized their destructive rage. At length, 
tired of murder and rapine, they once more submitted their 
passions to the yoke of authority. The King of Navarre 
was expelled the kingdom : Marcel betrayed and assassi- 



60 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

nated. The Dauphin resumed the reins of state, and his 
conduct, at once firm and prudent, secured the triumph of 
the crown over the popular party. On his return from 
captivity, the king found the royal prerogative extended 
still farther than under his predecessors. He levied imposts 
by his own authority ; and though he assembled the states, 
which had now become an annual custom, the sceptre 
awed the deputies into submission, and made them confine 
themselves to insignificant remonstrances*. 

* It may not be here irrelevant to take a summary view of the different 
legislative bodies that have existed in France. The latest capitularies are 
those of Carloman, A.D. 882. The institution which formed the most 
distinguishing- feature in the government of the Franks — the Champ de 
Mai, then fell into disuse. The royal councils which succeeded it were com- 
posed of barons, tenants in chief, dignified ecclesiastics, and officers of the 
household. It differed little from a privy council, and its functions were 
chiefly limited to the king's fief. There are a few instances, however, of 
assemblies of a more national character. The crusade of Louis VII. was 
undertaken in a congress of barons held in 1146. It was agreed to termi- 
nate private wars in a similar meeting of barons and prelates under the 
same prince. Another in 1188 imposed the saladine tithe. An assembly 
of French barons, convoked by St. Louis, refused an asylum in France to 
Innocent IV. 

The cours plenieres, or assemblies of the barons at the great festivals 
of the year, seemed to have been in general for purposes of pageantry. 
From the end, indeed, of the ninth century, to the beginning of the four- 
teenth, a regular national convocation was unknown. The crown was 
subject to no restraints of this kind. And yet in no age, perhaps, was it 
less powerful. It was a feudal principle that the sovereign could promul- 
gate no new law in the territory of his vassal without his consent. This 
independency freed the barons from the jurisdiction of the king, and ren- 
dered them indifferent to his measures. 

The convocation of the states-general by Philip the Fair, the introduc- 
tion of the third estate or commons into that body, seemed the sera of a 
free constitution. The same order, but a few years before, had been sum- 
moned to the parliament of England. They there, in conjunction with 
the nobles, constantly advanced in the career of liberty, and finally took the 
lead in legislative importance. In France, in common with all the other 
orders of the state, they sank into comparative servitude. It would be dif- 
ficult, in the whole history of the human race, to find such different results 
flowing from such apparently similar causes. There was this material dif- 
ference, indeed, from the very first ; that, in England, the commons were 
summoned for the important purpose of assessing their share of the public 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 61 

§31. The Regency. 

Charles V., having mounted the throne, no longer assem- 
bled those states which it had cost him so much trouble to 
restrain during his regency. He replaced them, as we 

contributions,— in France, for defending the independence of the crown. 
The first convocation of the states general took place in 1302. They met 
again the year following, and again in 1312, for pronouncing the final sup- 
pression of the templars. In 1328, an assembly, to which some historians 
refuse the title of states general, was held at Paris for confirming the pre- 
tensions of Philip VI., called of Valois, to the French throne. Under 
circumstances of this kind it was, that the states of France were gene- 
rally convoked. The crown had recourse to them only in critical emergen- 
cies, and no longer thought of them when the danger was past. It never 
considered them as a branch of the constitution, and whatever rights they 
arrogated under the favour of circumstances, were, in the sequel, constantly 
overlooked and contemned. An historian of the sixteenth century relates 
that Louis Hutin bound himself not to levy any tax without the consent of 
the three estates. Hallam, c. ii. p. 1. A charter of this kind was precisely 
what was wanting ; but, unhappily, it could never be found. The states, 
however, always contended for the right of taxation. A duty upon salt 
levied by Philip the Long, excited so much discontent that he was compell- 
ed to convoke them. But Philip VI. renewed and augmented the same 
duty on his own authority. 

After the famous states of 1355, held by King John, they met in March 
of the following year, and again in October after the battle of Poitiers. 
The next three years were each marked by assemblies of states. This re- 
gularity seemed to promise them a real and permanent share in the govern- 
ment. But the disposition to encroach on the rights of the crown, mani- 
fested by the states, or at any rate, the dread of this encroachment on the 
part of the government, led to a misunderstanding between them. The 
dauphin availed himself of the circumstances of the moment. Oppressed 
from without by a powerful enemy, and a prey to faction within, the sounder 
part of the nation saw no other means of safety than in rallying round the 
throne. The states of 1359 were favourable to its measures ; and John, 
after his return from captivity, found no difficulty in levying taxes without 
the formality of their consent. Charles V., his successor, convoked them 
at Paris in 1369, for their advice and assistance in the war with England ; 
and this was the only instance of a similar act of deference during his 
reign. But at the accession of Charles VI„ A.D, 1380, the contest was 
renewed. The states compelled the government to repeal all taxes imposed 
since the reign of Philip IV. " We will, ordain and grant," says the king, 
"that the aids, subsidies and impositions of whatever kind, and however 
" imposed, that have had course in the realm since the reign of our prede- 
" cessor Philip the Fair, shall be repealed and abolished ; and we will and 



62 GOVERNMENT OP FRANCE 

have seen, by parliamentary sessions, which only afforded 
an imperfect image of them. The people enjoyed repose 
under his temperate administration, and forgot they had 
been so near acquiring a political existence. 

" decree, that by the course which the said impositions have had, we or our 
" successors shall not have acquired any right, nor shall any prejudice be 
" wrought to our people, nor to their privileges and liberties, which shall 
" be re-established in as full a manner as they enjoyed them in the reign of 
" Philip the Fair, or at anytime since ; and we will and decree, that if 
" any thing has been done contrary to them, since that time to the present 
" hour, neither we, nor our successors, shall take any advantage there- 
" from." Hallam, Hist. Mid. Ages. (Ordonnances des Rois, t. vi. p. 554.) 
This was going a good way towards the establishment of a free constitu- 
tion ; for no one can doubt, that had the states once obtained the privilege 
of granting money, but the cause of freedom would have nourished equally 
well in France as in England, where this right, firmly maintained, won so 
many other concessions. But the triumph of liberty was of short dura- 
tion. The factious spirit of the people, and the arbitrary measures of the 
court led to an open rupture, which turned as usual to the advantage of 
the crown. The states were convoked under the same prince, on two oc- 
casions besides ; once in 1382, and again in 1412. 

In 1420 an assembly, which most historians style the states general, was 
held at Paris for imposing a general tax in the shape of a forced loan. 
They were called together in 1439-40 for advice on the war with England. 
Louis XI. assembled them at Tours, A.D. 1468, principally with the view 
of justifying before them his conduct towards Prince Charles his brother. 
Thus from the reign of Charles V. to that of Louis XL, a period of up- 
wards of a century, the states were convoked but seven times. During all 
this period the sovereign levied taxes on his own authority ; and when he 
did convoke the states, it was generally on subjects foreign to this right, 
though they seldom failed to assert their pretensions to it. 

At length, a favourable opportunity for establishing their privileges was 
again afforded the states at the accession of Charles VIII. A difference as 
to the mode of settling the regency during the minority of that prince, led 
the princes of the blood, at the head of whom was the Duke of Orleans, 
to demand their convocation. They were accordingly convoked at Tours, 
A.D. 1483 ; but no sooner were they met, than the government, dreading 
the consequences of their interference, proceeded to sow disunion among 
the members. Two of the six nations into which the states were divided, 
proposed the formation of a council, to be composed not only of the prin- 
ces, but of deputies elected by the states. The other four opposed this, 
and the two former were obliged to concede. On the subject of taxation, 
their sentiments were more unanimous. They demanded the abolition of 
the taille and all other illegal taxes, and that from thenceforward " ac- 
" cording to the natural liberty of France," the crown should levy no new 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 63 

We here come to the consideration of a point, certainly 
one of the most important in a constitution, and generally 
the most neglected ; since it is in the nature of sovereign 

imposts without the consent of the states. They at length made a grant 
of the taxes payable in the time of Charles VII., with an additional fourth 
on the king's accession. They granted this too, as they declared, not as a 
tax, nor as liable to be called a tax, but as a gift and concession, and 
only to remain in force two years, when another meeting was to be con- 
voked. Upwards of twenty years, however, elapsed before the states 
again figure in history, and then not as the representatives of the nation, 
but as the instrument of the court. This assembly, held under Louis XII., 
" was the work," says Mably, " of the Countess of Angouleme for effect- 
" ing the marriage of her son with the Princess Claude, and the deputies 
" of the provinces manifested no regret for the past, nor solicitude as to 
" the future." Observ. sur IHistoire de Fr., lib. vii. c. 2. 

It has been the curse of the French nation in every age, and in none 
more so, I am apprehensive, than the present, to be easily seduced by the 
eclat of military glory, and those glittering vices which follow in its train. 
In the sixteenth century they were far more attentive to the wars of Italy, 
to the conquest of Milan and Naples, than to the defence of their rights 
against the encroachments of arbitrary power. The reign of Francis I. 
completed the delusion, and stamped that character on the people which 
they have ever since retained. " Never prince," says the author whom I 
have just quoted, " had more the manners, the disposition, the vices, and 
" the virtues of the people he governed, and consequently none could en- 
" joy more absolute power." The states were never once held under his 
reign : and the assembly convoked by Henry II., A.D. 1558, for reform- 
ing the abuses of the administration, not being preceded by a regular elec- 
tion of deputies, was rather an assembly of notables than the States 
General. 

This body met in the reign of Charles IX. A.D., 1560. The remon- 
strance presented by the third estate, on this occasion, contained no less 
than three hundred and fifty articles, arranged under the various heads 
of the church, nobility, justice, police, tailles and imposts, and commerce. 
It was transferred to Pontoise the following year. 

The religious troubles, which continued to prevail during the reign of 
Henry III., compelled him twice to have recourse to the states. They met 
at Blois in 1576, and again in 1588. But the disorders of the kingdom 
had now risen to too great a height to be removed by any thing less than 
the severe hand of a master. They terminated only with the accession of 
Henry IV. The states were held for the last time under Louis XIII., AD. 
1614. In reading their proceedings, one is struck with the little show 
of public spirit and unanimity exhibited by the members. The deputies 
of the provinces, divided into governments, quarrelled about precedence, 
and were willing, rather than compromise the dignity of their respective 



64 GOVERNMENT OF PRANCE 

power to concern itself little with the time when it must 
cease to be. We speak of the regency. 

Under the second race, and at the commencement of the 
third, the king did not attain his majority until his two- 
and-twentieth year, or rather, as he was not considered a 
king until crowned, the regents, in order to preserve their 
power, delayed as long as possible the ceremony of coro- 
nation. A principle generally prevailed, which forbad the 
guardianship of the young prince and the regency to be 
confounded ; and custom required that the first should 
be conferred on the king's mother, the second on one of 
the princes of the blood. Sometimes, as in the case of 
the celebrated mother of St. Louis, we find these two cha- 
racters united in the same person. From the time of 
Charles V. that practice was always followed. 

Philip the Hardy was the first of our kings who regu- 
lated the majority and regency by an ordinance ; but his 
ordinances received no execution after him. 

" The regency," says Mezerai, " has been settled in 
" three ways : 1st. When the king without being afflicted 
" by illness, but through foresight, or because, on the 
" point of leaving the kingdom, established the govern- 
" ment he wished the state to enjoy during his absence, or 
" after his decease. 2d. When the king, finding his death 
" approaching, instituted such regency in haste, and with 
" the inconvenience inseparable from hurried measures. 
" 3d. The regency ordered by the state in default of the 
" king's ordinances, and which is good and legitimate*.''' 

Charles V., in 1374, published two ordinances ; one 

countries, to degrade the whole body by submitting- to the award of the 
king-. The third estate, it is true, made some indications of a better 
spirit. They remained in session after the other two orders had sepa- 
rated, and continued to discuss their grievances. The absolute mandate 
of the king finally dissolved them ; and with them terminated, till the sera 
of the revolution, what share the people had hitherto enjoyed in the go- 
vernment of the country. 

* Memoires Historique et Critique, torn. ii. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 



65 



fixing the majority at fourteen, the other disposing of the 
regency in case of the monarch's death. In the first it was 
said: Donee decimum quartum atatis annum attingerint, 
which was afterwards interpreted to mean, that the 
fourteenth year should be commenced, but not completed. 
The ordinances of Charles the Wise were despised at his 
death, but the declarations conformable to them published 
by Charles VI. have perpetuated the principles: " they 
" are become," says the President Henault, " the fixed 
" jurisprudence of our public law on this subject." 

§ 32. Louis XL 

Nothing can be conceived more frightful than the situation 
of France from the time when Charles VI. lost the crown 
by his folly, to that in which Charles VII. re-conquered it. 
The towns pillaged in turns by all parties ; the country 
laid waste by armed men and fiscal agents ; two great 
factions, the Burgundians and Armagnacs, rivalling each 
other in murder and robbery ; all laws trampled under 
foot ; a princess culpable as a woman and a queen, as a 
wife and mother ; an imbecile monarch ; a fugitive and 
proscribed dauphin ; the great degraded ; magistrates des- 
titute of power ; a people intoxicated with fury ; a fo- 
reigner, in fine, admitted within our walls, and elevated to 
the throne. Such was France. Miracles — a Joan d'Arc 
could alone save her. 

When Charles VII. had once more become peaceable 
master of his dominions, such changes were perceptible in 
each of the three orders of the state, as could not but acce- 
lerate the progress of the crown towards absolute power. 
The people scarcely remembered the rights they had exer- 
cised under King John, and consequently evinced no dispo- 
sition to reclaim them. The clergy had separated their 
cause from that of the other two orders by an arrangement 
with the crown, and by establishing, with regard to the 

Vol. I. F 



66 GOVERNMENT OF PRANCE 

impost, gratuitous gifts. The nobles, in fine, losing all 
hopes of restoring the feudal government, had drawn near 
the throne which they had so long shaken ; they demanded 
a share in the royal administration, now that time had 
destroyed every other privilege, and expected in return for 
their devotion to the monarch's cause, some indemnity for 
what they had lost in wealth and honours. 

The great accordingly acquired considerable authority : 
as first counsellors or chief agents of the monarch, they 
assisted him in establishing a permanent militia, and a per- 
petual impost for its maintenance. These were the gen- 
d'armerie and the taille. 

The iron yoke of Louis XL oppressed alike all classes of 
Frenchmen. He at first wrested from the nobles, by means 
of his soldiers and executioners, the influence which they 
had been suffered to assume under his father ; but towards 
the end of his reign, he restored them some share of poli- 
tical importance, by declaring that his son Charles should 
transact nothing of importance without the advice of the 
princes of his blood, and great officers of the crown. The 
people alone remained in the condition to which preceding 
reigns and the tyrannical sceptre of Louis had reduced 
them. They no longer met in the states convoked by his 
successor, except, as the authors of the age express it, to 
deal out money at his pleasure. 

§ 33. Registration. 

We have seen the origin of the parliament in the king's 
court. At first a mere tribunal, it seemed in some degree 
to become a political body when the king, accompanied 
by his ministers, great officers and nobility, took his seat 
therein — but then only. 

Before Charles VI. the parliament held two sessions in 
the year, and its members were annual. It became per- 
manent under this prince. The custom also was then esta- 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 67 

Wished of judges holding their office during the life of the 
king by whom they were appointed, But they were obliged 
to be confirmed by his successors. The virtue and intel- 
ligence of these magistrates had gained them a consider- 
ation which had only increased during the crimes and 
disorder of civil commotion. They were sometimes called 
to the king's council. 

When there was no longer a national assembly charged 
with bearing the sentiments of the public to the foot of 
the throne, it is natural to believe that all men to whom 
the idea of absolute power was insupportable, would turn 
their attention to that body whose imposing countenance 
seemed alone capable of opposing any resistance to royal 
authority. Thus it was that public opinion increased still 
higher the influence which the parliament already enjoyed. 
It excited it to stand up as the natural protector of the 
people ; and invested it, in some degree, with the right of 
remonstrance. 

This right caused the king, and especially his ministers, 
to aim with increased solicitude at gaining the assent of the 
company. They consulted it on their measures and decrees ; 
and to prove its approbation introduced the practice of 
publishing their ordinances in the assembly, and tran- 
scribing them on its registers. The parliament drew from 
this idle ceremony, the precious right of registration. 

This privilege wrought a total change in the political 
circumstances of the parliament. That body successively 
pretended that if it was to enregister the law, it could 
examine it ; that this examination implied the power of 
modifying ; that this power again implied the right of re- 
jection ; and finally, that if registering was a quality essen- 
tial to a law, it was law only when it had gone through 
this formality, and that it was hitherto without force or 
effect. The company thus came to be associated with the 
legislative power. Unfortunately the crown could, and 

F2 



68 GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 

always did dispute with the parliament this high prero- 
gative. The king could always remind it, and at least with 
some share of speciousness, that at first it was nothing 
but a court of justice. Hence arose an almost perpetual 
struggle between regal authority and parliamentary 
influence. The latter sometimes contended with success, 
because it was supported by the whole weight of public 
opinion. 

Numerous volumes have been written for and against 
the rights of parliament ; but a general reflection, not 
hitherto offered, may probably decide the question. A 
political right, in fact, is a principle of order. One may 
say it is, because it is. It is time which consecrates it, and 
every day's duration adds to its first value : it becomes a 
national legitimacy, and is then as valid as royal legitimacy. 
The title no longer signifies any thing ; we are to consider 
only the simple fact of possession. 

Applying then these principles to parliaments, we per- 
ceive their rights to have been as respectable and sacred as 
those of the dynasty ; that in treating of either, one no 
more ought to mount up to the establishments of Philip 
the Fair, than to the accession of Hugh Capet. We see, 
in fine, that parliaments, whatever may have been their 
origin, had become the depositaries and legitimate guar- 
dians of such of our ancient liberties as still survived, 
from the very circumstance that no other body then existed 
which could perform this part. But, some one will say, 
could not the government always return to the ancient 
constitutive principles of the monarchy, and oppose the 
states-general to the parliament ? This measure was un- 
doubtedly within its reach, and to this it had recourse, — but 
too late. It opened the abyss, and was the first to perish. 
§34. Court of Peers. 

The parliament acquired the right of sitting in judgment 
on peers as it had obtained that of enregistering laws ; by 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 69 

skilful and measured steps. It was natural enough too that 
this body, succeeding as it did the king's court in the cha- 
racters of tribunal and council, should replace it also in 
its functions of court of peers. 

The peers long refused to acknowledge this august pre- 
rogative of the parliament. They long maintained, nor can 
the reasonableness of their arguments be denied, that they 
alone formed of right the supreme ban of the peerage, and 
that lawyers appointed by the king had no claim to the 
title of their judges ; but they were gradually brought to 
concede them this quality, by sharing it. 

Having therefore been called into the court of peers as 
simple counsellors, the members of parliament in their 
turn called the peers into their body ; and, it then became 
an established principle that the parliament was the court 
of peers, provided the peers had been summoned to take 
their seats therein. There are examples of judgments in 
the court of peers, when not one of that rank was present ; 
amongst others, that of the Marechal de Biron. 

§ 35. Pragmatic Sanctions. 

The chief glory of the parliamentary bodies is derived 
from their having always defended and maintained the 
principles of the Gallican church against the encroachments 
of the papal see and the stratagems of the Jesuits, favoured 
as they have been by the ill-advised zeal of monarchs, 
and culpable compliance of ministers : in having ordered 
the settlement of the French clergy, after rules equally in 
harmony with the spiritual authority belonging to the vicar 
of Jesus Christ, and the dignity of crowns and nations. 

To collect the principal points in the history of our 
ecclesiastical liberties : 

The election of bishops and right of presentation to 
benefices were always the chief sources of contention be- 



70 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



tween the popes and Christian governments. In France, 
under the first and second race, the rights of the people 
and the throne on these subjects were often disputed, seve- 
ral times proclaimed, but still more frequently neglected. 
Violence then decided this as it did every other question. 

St. Louis, in whom profound piety was united to the 
elevated character of a great monarch, was the first to 
determine in a precise manner the rights of the Gallican 
church, and to fix limits to the papal authority. We here 
present a summary of his famous ordinance called the 
pragmatic sanction, of which the ultra-montanes have dis- 
puted the authenticity. 

" The prelates and patrons of benefices shall be main- 
" tained in their rights. 

" The cathedrals and other churches shall freely enjoy 
" the right of election. 

" The crime of simony shall be the object of severe 
" inquiry. 

" Promotions and presentations shall be made according 
" to the common law, and the decrees of councils. 

" The exactions and very heavy burdens imposed by the 
u court of Rome shall cease to take effect, unless sanc- 
" tioned by the king and Gallican church. 

" The ecclesiastical immunities shall be generally main- 
" tained." 

It would require the most gloomy colours to paint the 
state of disorder which prevailed in the church in the 
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and during the great 
schism. There was a necessity for reform, and above all 
for setting limits to papal authority, chief source of all the 
mischief. Two councils, those of Constance and Basil, 
attempted it in vain. Princes at length took up the busi- 
ness, and effected in their respective dominions those 
reforms which the exigencies of the times called for. Thus 
originated the second pragmatic sanction composed of 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 



71 



twenty-three articles, and carried in an assembly of the 
states convoked at Bourges in 1438, by Charles VII. 

These articles, except that a few underwent certain 
modifications, were those of the council of Basil. They 
confirmed the principle that decrees of councils, to have 
effect in France, required the sanction of the temporal 
authority. They restored the freedom of elections, and 
abolished the annates. This was the instrument which 
gave rise to so many contests between the court of Rome 
and the French government, down to the reign of Francis I. 

§ 36. The Concordats 

Events uniting Leo X. and Francis I., steps were taken 
for terminating by a concordate the differences relative to 
ecclesiastical affairs. An exchange was then made, says 
Mezerai, of a most fantastical nature. The religious chief 
assumed the temporal, and left the spiritual to the poli- 
tical chief. The pragmatic sanction was abrogated, and 
even anathematized by a particular bull of the pontiff: 
the freedom of elections was abolished, and the nomination 
of bishops conferred on the king ; but the precious annates 
were, in return, restored to the court of Rome. 

All orders of the state exclaimed against the concordate, 
and demanded the maintenance of the act which it abo- 
lished. The parliament for a long time refused to enre- 
gister it, and when it at length performed this ceremony, 
did so by inserting that it was done in 'pursuance of the 
king's order. A few days after, the same body made a 
protest, declaring that in publishing this concordate, they 
neither understood nor approved it, neither authorized, 
nor even intended to observe it. The university had gone 
still farther, in forbidding it to be printed. The re-esta- 
blishment of the pragmatic sanction has been since several 
times solicited, as well by the states-general, as by assem- 
blies of the clergy themselves; and the concordate has 



72 GOVERNMENT OF PRANCE 

been commonly regarded as an alteration of the fund a 
mental laws of the Gallican church. 

§ 37. The Council of Trent. 

Two distinct things are to be considered in the decrees 
of the Council of Trent ; dogma and discipline. The dog- 
matical decisions of this council have never been received 
and published in France after the ordinary forms, no more 
than the articles of reformation, as the acts of the council 
designate what relates to discipline : but it has been con- 
stantly acknowledged and proclaimed, that the principles 
of faith professed in the kingdom were perfectly in unison 
with those adopted by the council. The articles of reform- 
ation, on the contrary, have been always held as mani- 
festly encroaching, at least in part, on the liberties of the 
Gallican church, and the rights of the crown. 

We may therefore lay down as a principle, that the 
Council of Trent has not been allowed in France. Never- 
theless, the decisions which the acts of this council em- 
brace, conformably to our ancient ecclesiastical liberties, 
have been confirmed by the usage of the church, and 
gained authority; not, indeed, as emanating from the 
Council of Trent in particular, but as expressing the con- 
stant and antecedent rules of the Catholic church. There 
is no need of other proof that the Council of Trent has 
been never legally appealed to in the kingdom, than the 
ordinance of Blois, passed by Henry III. in 1576, and in 
which various articles of discipline were extracted from 
the acts of this council, without the name even of the as- 
sembly being mentioned. 

In 1682, the genius and eloquence of Bossuet prevented 
the passage of four articles by an assembly of the clergy, 
which would have irrevocably confirmed the ancient liber- 
ties of the Gallican church. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 75 

§ 38. The Calvinists. 

The fifteenth century is one of the most memorable in 
the annals of the world. Discoveries of which the possi- 
ble results cannot be yet appreciated, after the lapse of 
three centuries ; the dawn of a great age of literature and 
the fine arts ; the wars of Italy ; the elevation of a power 
to the rank of dominant in Europe ; the reformation, in 
fine, form the principal points in the history of this re- 
markable age. 

Bossuet says, and his opinion is confirmed by the evi- 
dence of history, that the obstinacy of the court of Rome, 
in not suppressing the disorders to which the church was 
a prey, and which had so long furnished food for satire to 
the most learned men of the age, was the principal cause 
of the reformation. The impulse given to men's minds at 
first necessarily directed them to the abuses of the tempo- 
ral power of the popes, and to the means adopted by them 
for sustaining it. People had the courage to discuss both, 
and even dared attack the doctrines of the authority it was 
the object to. overthrow. The pontifical court shewed no 
disposition to lighten the yoke. It was broken, there- 
fore, and the writings of a few monks set Europe in com- 
motion. 

Francis I., towards the end of his reign, had kindled 
the flames of persecution. Henry IV. extinguished them 
by the edict of Nantz, and granted the Calvinists tolera- 
tion in the kingdom. Louis XIV., through the influence 
which had formerly dictated persecutions, afterwards re- 
voked this edict. 

It is not without a feeling of confusion for the human 
race, that our annals, during almost a century, are pe- 
rused. How, it may be asked, could a truth so simple as 
toleration have cost our country so much blood ? 



74 



GOVERNMENT OP PRANCE 



§ 39. Henry IV. 

The history of the religious troubles of France presents 
scarcely any thing but a series of crimes and calamities. 
The whole nation, as if transported with a species of mad- 
ness, seemed bent on its own ruin : the most absurd fana- 
ticism was allied to the most shameful licentiousness : the 
people again, as under the first race of the Valois, signa- 
lized their power by monstrous excesses ; while the great, 
no less a prey to ambition than cupidity, excited their fury 
against the crown, in order, in the sequel, to turn it to 
their own aggrandizement. They meditated and proposed 
a new partition of France into great fiefs, as in the time 
of Hugh Capet. The sceptre, almost always wielded by 
faithless and unskilful hands, was the sport of every party 
and every passion. The last of the grandsons of Francis I. 
had fallen by a stroke of the poniard. The factions which 
brought about St. Bartholomew's and the barricades had 
called in a foreign yoke. A great revolution seemed in- 
evitable. But a man, during several years, had struggled 
against anarchy, with the energy, the ability, and the suc- 
cess, which characterize genius. This man, destined by 
Providence to rescue France from ruin, was Henry IV. 

After the glory of conquering his kingdom, this great 
prince acquired that of restoring it to tranquillity. His 
fine qualities contributed to this, no less than his arms. 
Never, it may be said of him, was goodness so able. 
Under his moderate but firm government, the great returned 
to their duty, and entirely lost sight of those ambitious 
projects in which they had indulged during the civil trou- 
bles. The scaffold on which the unfortunate Marechal de 
Biron perished, taught them that there were no longer in 
France, but a monarch and his subjects. 

It was natural that the nation, tired of so many suffer- 
ings, should concern itself very little with its rights, when 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 15 

the claiming them would have perhaps compromised the 
happiness it enjoyed. What liberty, in fact, could be worth 
the absolute power of Henry IV.! The prince, on his 
part, may have justly considered the effervescence yet too 
great for re-establishing the people in their ancient and 
lawful liberties. He had to apprehend, in convoking their 
deputies, lest his good intentions might be shackled, and 
not seconded. We see therefore, on neither side, any at- 
tempts made to return to the ancient constitutive princi- 
ples of the monarchy. One would fain believe, however, 
that France, already so much indebted to Henry IV., 
would have received from him, had he escaped the blow of 
Ravaillac, some political measures calculated to fix its in- 
stitutions, and secure its future prosperity. 

§ 40. Conclusion. 

We are arrived at the conclusion of this summary. We 
have described the origin and developement, the applica- 
tion, and, more frequently, the neglect of the constitutive 
principles composing the ancient public law of the king- 
dom. The government destined to rule it to the period of 
the revolution is actually established ; and a very few re- 
marks will suffice for the history of two centuries, in so 
many other respects interesting. 

The parliament, during the religious troubles, passed 
ordinances which placed it on a level with the states-gene- 
ral. In this it went beyond its powers ; but it never en- 
tered the mind of any one to dispute them, because they 
saved the monarchy. Such was the famous decree of 1593, 
which this body opposed, with success, to the factious 
states of the league, for preventing the Spanish race as- 
cending the French throne. The parliament afterwards 
did not fail to appeal to these acts, passed in times of dis- 
order, and to deduce from them rights which fixed its 
political powers. About this period it was too that the 



76 



GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE 



assembly adopted the system, so strenuously supported 
afterwards, that it was no other than the ancient placita 
or parlamenta of the monarchs ; and that consequently it 
formed the real states-general of the nation. We have 
seen what ought to be thought of this supposition. 

At the death of Henry IV. } Mary de Medicis wished 
that her regency should appear confirmed by the national 
assent. But instead of assembling the states, she de- 
manded a decree of parliament, which was only confirma- 
tive of the decree. So that it was in reality the parlia- 
ment which conferred the regency. It was the [policy of 
ministers constantly to evince the semblance of respect 
for the ancient constitutive forms, in respecting the autho- 
rity of parliament ; to invite the interference of this as- 
sembly, when such interference would facilitate their 
views ; to elude it when opposed to them ; so to act, in 
fine, that the right of consenting might never become that 
of discussing and refusing. 

Opinion every day increased the violence of the struggle 
between the king and these judicial bodies, which had ori- 
ginally sprung from his own palace, and it only termi- 
nated with the revolution which occasioned the ruin of 
both. 

All that we have hitherto said throws new light on the 
history of these two centuries. , Several acts of adminis- 
tration may be now estimated after certain rules, and one 
cannot but acknowledge that, generally speaking, every 
thing was done to accumulate the storms impending over 
France, and nothing to avert them. Let us cite, for ex- 
ample, but the exile of the parliaments, and their disso- 
lution by the Chancellor Meaupou ; an act, since the 
states-general were not immediately convoked, at once so 
criminal and impolitic. 

The bold and sanguinary genius of Richelieu, the bril- 
liant despotism and victories of Louis XIV., alike con- 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 77 

tributed to banish even the recollection of the ancient in- 
fluence of the great. Nothing more was wanting than to 
corrupt them, and this Louis XV. effected. In the reign 
of this prince, every thing was polluted and fell to decay. 
But while the first orders of the state were sinking into 
dependence and corruption, the third, through the pro- 
gress of the sciences, arts, and a daring philosophy, were 
gradually rising into importance. A revolution was in- 
evitable, and the virtues of Louis XVI. did but retard this 
event. It' was at last found necessary to return to those 
principles of government which had so long lain neglected. 
The nation was convoked, and then commenced a revolu- 
tion which covered our country with massacres, and shook 
all Europe to its foundations. Half a century before, and 
all this, perhaps, had been but a useful and tranquil 
reform ! 



CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

(Unwritten) 
BEFORE 1789. 

The constitution here presented to the reader is com- 
posed of articles commonly considered, during the last and 
preceding centuries, as constitutive in France, by the court, 
the parliament, and those writers whom we may esteem 
the luminaries of our public law. 

We must observe, however, that although generally al- 
lowed, they for the most part only prevailed by usage, 
and had received no other sanction than that of time. 
Hence it is, that history has as often to mark the neglect 
as the application of them, and hence too a new motive 



78 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

for appreciating those written charters in which rights and 
powers are clearly fixed and determined. 

What we have here chiefly in view, is to collect in a 
few pages those elements of our constitution which, scat- 
tered over numerous volumes, few people are now willing 
or able to peruse. But this unwritten constitution becomes 
valuable on another account. All publicists will certainly 
agree that it is necessary to fill up the gaps perceptible in 
the constitutional charter of 1814, by recurring to the an- 
cient constitutive principles of the monarchy. Several 
articles therefore, such as those which relate to the Salic 
law, and the regency, may be considered as yet in force, 
and still forming part of our constitution. 

General Dispositions *. 

Frenchmen are born and remain free. 

They are under the protection of the law, and by it alone 
can be deprived of the exercise of their liberty, save the 
modifications hereafter determined. 

The French form three orders ; the clergy, nobility, and 
third estate. 

Letters of naturalization granted a foreigner, entitle him 
to be reputed as a natural Frenchman. 

Frenchmen who settle themselves for ever in a foreign 
country, without the king's permission, lose all right of 
citizenship in France. 

Frenchmen who leave the kingdom with the king's per- 
mission, or in the retinue of the sons of France, do not 
lose their right of citizenship. 

The Roman Catholic religion is the religion of the state. 
Every other is interdicted in the kingdom f. 

* Choppin, Du Domaine. Bacquet, Du Droit d'Aubaine. Jour- 
nal des Audiences, t. i. 1. 11. c. 18 ; 1. viii. c. 15 ; t. ii. 1. iii. c. 6. Le- 
bret, De la Souverainete. Loisel. 

+ Revocation of the Edict of Nantz. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 79 

No one can be constrained to celebrate the worship of 
the ruling religion, or unquieted on account of his belief, 
unless he publish opinions contrary to the faith or cere- 
monies established in the kingdom. 

Justice emanates from the king ; and in his name is ad- 
ministered throughout the kingdom. 

Of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom*. 

The fundamental laws of the kingdom are immutable, 
and, if we may use the expression, annexed to the crozvr.. 
They form a reciprocal and eternal bond between the 
prince and his descendants on the one part, and subjects 
and their descendants on the other. Neither party can 
alone absolve itself from the engagement formed by these 
laws. 

1st. — The kingdom of France is a monarchy, hereditary 
from male to male, and following the order of primo- 
geniture. 

2d. — In default of heir in line direct, the kingdom be- 
longs to the next prince of the blood, to the exclusion of 
every male descendant of the daughters. 

3d. — Natural children are excluded from the throne, 
even in default of legitimate princes of the royal family. 
In this case, the nation, or the states-general, which re- 
present it, have alone the right of electing the new 
sovereign. 

4th. — The kingdom of France cannot be divided. It 



* See edicts of 1667, and of July, 1717. The President de Harley, in 
les OEuvres de Davair, Bed of Justice of 1586. Legrand, Traite de la 
succ. a la Cour. Choppix, Du Domaine. Loisel, Opuscules. Del- 
hommeau, Max. Lebret, Traite de la Souverainete. Dupuy, Traite 
de la Maj. Traite des Droits de la Reine, pp. 129, 402, 403, 414. 
Max. du Droit Pub. Fran. c. 4. De Real, Science du Gouvernement, 
torn. ii. Po€quet, de Livoniire, 1. i. torn. 1. sect. 1. Des Offices, lib. ii. 
c. 2. No. 30, et suiv. 



80 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

devolves, whole and entire, on the head of the eldest of the 
royal family ; particular laws fixing the appanage of the 
princes of the blood. 

5th. — The domain and rights of the crown are inalien- 
able. The prince cannot dismember his kingdom, or even 
bind it either for debt or in alliance, without the free and 
solemn consent of the nation. 

6th. — On the day of his accession to the throne, every 
thing which the king possessed as property, is united to 
the crown, and becomes part of the domain thereof. 

7th. — The King of France never dies. His successor 
is seized immediately, and of full right, of the royal 
authority. 

The stipulations made by the different provinces, at the 
time of their re-union to the crown, form no part of the 
fundamental laws. 

Of the King*. 

The king is the chief of the monarchy. The supreme 
power resides in him ; to him alone belongs the right of 
making war and peace, levying tributes, coining money, 
granting pardons and remissions, and appointing to the 
different employments. 

The king's person is sacred and inviolable. 

His majority is fixed at fourteen years commencedf. 

All the authorities of the kingdom hold their power of 
the king only J, and exercise it only in his name. 

* See Lebret, Traite du Souverain. Dblhommeau, Max. — 
Pocquet de Livoniere, Regies du Dr. Fr. 1. i. t. 1. s. 1. De Real, 
La Science du Gouvernement, c. vii. sect. 1. Dupuy, Traite de la Maj. 
des Rois. Edicts of 1374, and of July, 1717. 

t Ordonn. of Charles V., executed by Charles IX., Louis XIII., Louis 
XIV., and Louis XV. 

% Declar. of the Advoc. of the Pari, of Paris, on the sovereign autho- 
rity of the King. De Real, Science du Gouvernement 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 81 

Of the Regency *. 

A regency takes place : during the king's minority ; 
during his absence from the territory ; during his captivity > 
during all the times he labours under insanity, or is inca- 
pable from any other cause of administering the affairs of 
the kingdom. It ceases of full right with the causes which 
rendered the king incapable of governing the state in 
person. 

The regency belongs to the nearest relation of the king, 
and to the queen-mother in preference to all others. Not- 
withstanding, any prince or princess of the royal family, 
and even a person not belonging to that family, may, in 
prejudice to the queen-mother, be appointed regent, if it 
be judged advantageous to the ward, or to the welfare of 
the state f. 

It may be conferred on a single person, on several at 
the same time, or on a single person assisted by a council. 
Or the administration of the state may be intrusted to one 
person, and the education or guardianship of the prince to 
another J. 

The king appoints the regent by will, by letters patent, 
or even by a simple declaration. If the king has made no 
provision of this kind, the appointment of regent belongs 
to the states-general. And in their default, and in case of 
urgency, to the great officers of the crown, the council of 
state, or to the parliament §. 

The regent exercises all the functions of royalty in the 
king's name, When a council of regency is attached to 

* See Robert Luyt, La Reg. des Reines. Bertier, Disc. cVOuv, 
au Partem, de Toulouse, 1649. Dupuy, Be la Majorite des Rois. 
Du Tillet, Des Regences. Pasquier, Rech. liv. 2 . c. 18. Bou- 
chet, Art. Regent. Harangue de phil. pot. surVAut. des Etats Gknkr, 
aux Etats de 1484. 

t Legendre, Mceurs des Fr. p, 113. 

X Idem. § Dupuy, chap. 6. 

Vol. I. G 



82 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

him, he is obliged to conform himself to the votes of this 
council, as expressed by a majority of its members*. 

Of the Royal Family^. 

The eldest son of the king of France bears the name of 
Dauphin. 

The king has no power to disinherit him, or to exclude 
him from the throne. 

The younger children of the kings of France have only 
appanages revertibleto the crown in default of line mascu- 
line. This appanage consists in useful domain. The 
king always preserves the right of sovereignty over lands 
conferred as appanage. 

The princes of the blood are of age at fifteen years, and 
have admission, a seat and deliberative voice in the parlia- 
ments. They take precedence, even at the king's corona- 
tion, of all dukes and peers, although they themselves may 
not be in possession of peerages. 

The legitimated princes, and their male descendants who 
possess peerages, have a deliberative voice in the courts of 
parliament at the age of twenty years, with a seat imme- 
diately after the princes of the blood, and before the peers, 
although their peerages should be of less ancient date. 

The daughters of France have no appanage : they do 
not succeed to lands granted in appanage J. 

Peers \. 

The peers of France are the first officers of the crown. 
They are ecclesiastical or laical. 

* Decree of the Pari, of Paris, 12th September, 1715. 

t Vide Ordonnance of Blois, A.D. 1579. Choppin, Du Domaine. 
Edicts of 1711, Art. 1 and 2, and of July 1717. Pocquet de Livoniere, 
lib. 1. tit. 1. sect. 1. Dupuy, Traite du Duche de Boargogne, at the 
end. Le Grand, Traite de la Succession a la Couronne. 

% Dupuv, however, shews that this rule is not without exceptions. 

§ Vide Decrees of the parliament of Paris, 30 April 1643, and 21 Sept. 
1557. Bed of Justice, 2 March 1336. Ord. of December 1365, 1366, and 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION, 83 

Certain peerages maybe held by women, when, in default 
of males, the act of creation permits it, or when originally 
created in favour of females. In both cases they devolve 
to daughters only on condition of their espousing a person 
agreeable to the king, and of obtaining letters patent in 
favour of the husband, who takes rank and precedence only 
from the day of his reception in the parliament. 

The creation of new peers belongs to the king. Their 
number is unlimited. 

To be admitted to the rank of peer, it is necessary to be 
at least twenty-five years of age, and to profess the faith 
and religion of the catholic, apostolic, and Roman church. 

The letters creating a new peerage must be verified, all 
the chambers of the parliament assembled. 

At his admission the peer takes an oath " to conduct 
himself as a wise and magnanimous duke and peer — to be 
faithful to the king, and to serve him in his highest and 
most potent affairs." 

The dukes and peers take rank and place as to each other, 
from the day of their first admission into the parliament of 
Paris, after the letters of creation have been enregistered. 

The peers have of right a deliberative voice in the great 
chambers of the parliament, and in the assembled cham- 
bers, whenever they think proper to attend. 

They are present at beds of justice, and give their opi- 
nions before the presidents and counsellor-clerks. 

The court of peers alone takes cognizance of causes which 
concern the peers' estate, the rights attached to their 
peerages, and the accusations brought against them. 

In civil matters, the causes of peers, relating to the 

of April 1453, art. 6. Edict of Sept. 1610, art. 7. Decree of the parlia- 
ment against the peers, 1224. Speech of the Attorney-general, 25 
May 1394, in the cause of the Duke of Orleans. Edict of May 1711 
art. 3, 4, 5, 6. Decree of 1725 in favour of the Marechal d'Estree. 
Choppin, liv. iii. tit. 7. Journal des Audiences, torn. v. liv. xii. ch. 13. 

G2 



: 7 



84 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

domain or patrimony of their peerages, must be carried 
before the parliament, even when they plead as a body. 

In default of successor to a peerage, the king may invest 
with it a person to whom it would not otherwise devolve. 
In this case the peerage preserves the rank assigned to it 
by the original title of creation. 

The males descended from a person in whose favour a 
ducal peerage was created, may repurchase it of the daugh- 
ters who become proprietors of it. 

The Clergy*. 

The clergy form the first order of the state. They enjoy 
the privilege of clerkship , or right of carrying before the 
church judge the causes in which they are defendants. 

The ecclesiastics are not amenable to the judges of the 
lords in the matter of offences, but to the church judge for 
common offences, and to the royal judge for privileged 
cases. 

They are not subject to the taille, and are on a footing 
with the nobility as to several other exemptions. 

Priests and other ecclesiastics cannot be imprisoned for 
debt, or in civil causes : they are liable to be judged, as 
well in the ecclesiastical as in the secular tribunals. They 
can discharge the functions of advocates both in secular 
and ecclesiastical tribunals. 

Of the Nobility f. 
Nobility is acquired, 1. by letters of nobility duly veri- 

* Ordon. of 1 .667, tit. 33, art. 15. Declarations of 5 July 1696, and 
July, 1710. 

+ Loisel, lib. 1. tit. reg. 9, 11, 13. Des Offices, lib. I. c. 9, n. 18. 
Des Orders, c. 5. n. 88. Bacquet, du Dr. oVAnnobl., c. 18, 19, 20, 23. 
La Roque, TraitS de la Noblesse, c. IS, 22, 57, 63, 64, 99, 136. Du 
Tillet, Ch. des Chevaliers. DArgentre', Avissurlc Part, des Nobles, 
quest. 18 and 19. Ord. of Blois, art. 257, 258 ; of Orleans, art. 110, 
Edict on Duels, art. 15. Regulation of 1661, art. 139. Edict of Cremieu 
of 1536. Dedar. of Compieg. Feb. 1637. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 85 

fied ; 2. by holding during the requisite time an office 
which confers nobility; 3. by letters of knighthood. It 
is hereditary. The possession of a fief does not ennoble. 

A foreign nobleman is not permitted to enjoy the privi- 
leges of nobility in France, until he has obtained from the 
king letters recognising his title ; without prejudice never- 
theless to such express stipulations in treaties between 
France and the country of such foreigner as may entitle 
him to the enjoyment of the said privileges. 

The natural children of princes are nobles. Those of 
noblemen are commoners (roturiers), unless rendered legi- 
timate by subsequent marriage. 

The king alone can confer letters of nobility. The nobles 
enjoy certain privileges and prerogatives of honour. Their 
chief privileges consist : 

1. In holding, as an order, the second rank in the 
state, viz., in taking rank immediately after the clergy, 
and before the third estate. 

2. In being alone qualified for admission into certain 
regular military and other orders, and into certain chapters, 
benefices, and offices, as well ecclesiastical as secular. 

3. In personal exemption from the taille # , and from 
all accessory impositions. 

4. In being exempt from banalitesf , corvees, and other 
kinds of servitude, when of a personal and not of a real 
nature. 

5. In being naturally the only persons qualified for hold 
ing fiefs ; commoners doing this by dispensation only. 

* The word faille properly signifies the notch or incision which the col- 
lectors, who were unable to write, made on pieces of wood when making 
an assessment or division of the tax, and it thence came to mean the tax 
itself. Of this there were two kinds, the taille real or land tax, and the 
faille personal or poll-tax. The latter for a day-labourer was fifteen sous 
per annum. 

t Banalite was the right of a lord to compel his vassal to grind at his 
mill, bake at his oven, press his grapes at his wine-press, tyc. For cor- 
vees, see article. Taille, Impost, Corvee 






86 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

6. In being exempt from the militia; though they are 
obliged to march when the king orders the ban and the 
arriere ban. 

7. In not being subject, except in cases of necessity, to 
provide quarters for soldiers. 

8. In having a right to carry their causes directly before 
the bailiffs and seneschals ; their widows enjoying the same 
privilege, but both being subject to the jurisdiction of the 
lords. 

9. In not being subject in any case, or for any crime 
whatever, to the jurisdiction of provosts or presidial judges, 
in the last resort. 

10. In having a right to demand, in every state of the 
case, when their process is pending in the criminal court of 
the parliament, provided the votes have not commenced, to 
be tried in the presence of the great chamber assembled. 

Nobility is forfeited by crime, or by an act of degrada- 
tion ; but letters of recapacitation may be granted in every 
case, except that of high treason. 

Children born before their father's degradation, do not 
require letters of recapacitation to preserve their rank. 

The woman noble in her own right, who marries a com- 
moner, forfeits her rank. She recovers it after the death 
of her husband. 

Communes*. 

A commune is an association entered into by the inhabi- 
tants of a place, in virtue of which, they form altogether a 
body, have a right to meet and deliberate on their common 
affairs, to choose officers to govern them, to collect their 
common revenues, and to have a seal and common chest. 

* In the sixteenth century the privileges of the communes were already 
considerably diminished, and their burdens increased. They continued 
insensibly to decline, until at last, they had lost nearly all their privileges^ 
and had sunk into weakness and decay. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 87 

The communes are freed from all service and exactions 
to which copyholders are subject. They enjoy the particu- 
lar rights which are guaranteed to them by their charters of 
creation ; and are subject, each, to the burdens and duties 
enacted by the same charters. 

Of the King's, or Great Council # . 

The great council takes cognizance of several subjects, 
as well civil and criminal, as those which relate to bene- 
fices. Its jurisdiction extends over the whole kingdom. 

It takes cognizance of the regulations of courts and of- 
fices ; of all the gifts and brevets of the king ; of the ad- 
ministration of his domains ; of the affairs, as well of jus- 
tice as police, in the king's household ; and of the officers 
in the suite of the court. 

It can also take cognizance of the affairs of individuals, 
either in pursuance of petitions presented to the king, and 
by him referred to the council, or with the consent of the 
parties. 

The great council takes cognizance exclusively, 1. Of 
contrarieties and nullities of decrees ; 2. Of the preserva- 
tion of the jurisdiction of the presidial courts and provost 
marshals, by means of judiciary regulations; 3. Of suits 
concerning archbishopricks, bishopricks, and abbeys ; 4. 
Of the execution of brevets granted by the king, for nomi- 
nating to all the great benefices ; of the indulto of the par- 
liament ; of brevets of joyous accession, and oath of fide- 
lity ; of the exercise of the right of litigation in Normandy ; 
and, in general, of all brevets granted by the king for 
benefices; 5th, Of the rights of frank fiefs and new ac 
quests, as well as of the attribution of affairs concerning 
the right of notaryship. 

* Edicts of the 2d Aug. 1497, and 23d July 1498. Lett. Pat. of 1531 
and 1537. Declar. of 7th Aug-. 1548; 15th Sept. 1576. Edicts of 1690, 
of Jan. J73S, and 12th Nov. 1774. 



83 



CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 



The great council, moreover, is created for maintaining 
a uniformity of jurisprudence throughout the kingdom on 
certain subjects, such as usury, bankruptcy, the govern- 
ment and discipline of the great bodies which have a right 
of appeal to the council. 

The great council can sometimes supply the place of the 
sovereign courts, for the trial of certain affairs which have 
been evoked by it*. 

It is composed, 1. Of the chancellor or keeper of the 
seals, who are its natural chiefs and presidents ; 2. Of a 
first president, appointed by the king; 3. Of five other 
hereditary presidents ; 4. Of an unlimited number of 
counsellors of honour ; 5. Of fifty-four counsellors, of 
whom two are, at the same time, grand reporters and cor- 
rectors of letters under the seal ; 6. Of two advocates- 
general, of an attorney-general, several substitutes to the 
attorney-general, and a register in chief. 

All these officers enjoy numerous privileges, especially 
such as are enjoyed by the commensales of the king's house- 
hold, and the officers of the supreme courts. Nobility is 
a consequence of their office. 

The States-General f. 

The states-general are composed of the deputies of the 
clergy, nobility, and third estate. They represent the nation, 
exercise power collectively, and in its name. 

The convocation of the states belongs to the king alone, 
and is thus ordered. In pursuance of the king's lettres de 
cachet, the seneschals and bailiffs, each in his jurisdiction, 
hold three assemblies ; one of the clergy, one of the nobi- 
lity, and one of the third estate. 

* It would be impossible to collect here all the powers of the great 
council. We have given such as appear to us to have more particularly 
constituted its essential character. 

f Vide Mim. de la Ligue, t. v. p. 280. Dissertation on the Right of 
convoking the States, printed at the end of the Max. du Dr. Pub. Fr, 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 89 

Each of these assemblies makes an election of deputies, 
who repair to the place appointed by the king for the ge- 
neral assembly. 

1 . The instructions of the deputies may be expressed or 
implied. 

The chambers of the clergy, nobility, and third estate, 
assemble each separate from the other, and choose one or 
more presidents, one or more secretaries, and two or three 
assessors ; they also appoint a person to address the king. 

The king sets forth, in the assembly of the three orders 
united, the business on which he has convoked them. 

When each chamber has separately discussed the sub- 
ject in question, an address is framed, for making remon- 
strances to the king, and for giving him such advice as the 
chamber may deem necessary to the welfare of the state. 
These addresses are presented to the king separately. 

All the deputies of each chamber are divided into twelve 
general governments, of which the names and rank follow : 
1. The Isle of France; 2. Burgundy; 3. Normandy; 4. 
Guienne ; 5. Britany; G.Champagne; 7. Languedoc ; 8. 
Picardy ; 9. Dauphiny ; 10. Provence ; 11. Lyonnais ; 12. 
Orleannais. 

The subjects of discussion are decided in each chamber 
by a plurality of the votes of the governments ; one govern- 
ment having no more weight than another, although it 
may be composed of a greater number of deputies. 

The subjects of discussion are carried in each govern- 
ment by a majority of the votes of the bailiwicks and 
seneschalships. 

In Britany, Dauphiny, and Provence, the deputies are 
appointed in the assemblies of the whole province : in the 
rest of the kingdom, by the bailiwicks, seneschalships, and 
towns. 

To the states belong, 1. The appointment of regent, 
when such appointment has not been made by the king ; 



90 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

2. The election of a new sovereign, when the king dies 
without heirs ; 3. The election of regent, when several 
persons lay claim to that dignity ; 4. The election of the 
king, amongst several pretenders to the throne ; 5. The 
approbation or rejection of a declaration of offensive war ; 
6. The cognizance of all projects of law, and resolutions, 
for the validity of which their concurrence is declared 
necessary by the laws or usages of the kingdom. 

The states are convoked whenever the king thinks ne- 
cessary. Nevertheless, there are cases in which the nation 
itself can convoke them, or rather, when the grandees of 
the kingdom, the princes and peers, may make this convo- 
cation, without encroaching upon the royal authority ; as, 
for instance, when the reigning family becomes extinct. 

The Parliaments *. 

The parliaments are bodies politic and courts of justice. 
As political bodies they have a right to make such remon- 
strances as may be necessary for the interest of the state 
and welfare of its subjects. 

They have the deposit of the laws ; and all new laws 
must be freely verified and enrolled on their registers. 

The parliament may refuse to enregister laws enacted 
by the prince ; and is at liberty to propose to him modifica- 
tions in them. 

The magistrates make oath to examine whether in the 
edicts and other laws presented to them, any thing be con- 

* Tres. des Haran. Paris, 1668, part 2, p. 198. -Max. du Dr. Publ. Fr. 
c. 5. P. Granet, StiL Reg. pp. 621, 622. R. Gaguin, lib. iii. cap. ultim. 
Bude', Annot. in Pandect. Pasquier, Rech. liv. ii. cap. 4. Loiseatj, 
Des Seign. cap. iii. No. 11. Coquille, at the commencement of his Inst, 
du Dr. Fr. Harangue of Miron to Louis XIII., in the Recueil des Etats 
of 1614, by Rapin, p. 459. Laroche-Flavin, Pari, de Fr. tit. 1. part 
ii. page 117. Mem. de Conde, in 4to. torn. i. p. 27. Remonst. of the 
Pari, of Paris, 9th June 1581, of July 1718. Talon, Speech at the Bed 
of Justice of 1645. 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 91 

tained contrary to the interests of the king, of the state, or 
to the fundamental laws of the kingdom*. 

As courts of justice, the parliaments and sovereign courts 
have also the right of judging in the last resort the causes 
of individuals. 

Court of Peers, Court of France, or King's Court f. 

The court of peers is the first court of the kingdom. It 
is composed of the parliament of Paris, of the peers of 
France ; and the king, or some person delegated by him, 
presides over it J. 

The court of peers cannot pronounce judgment on a 
peer's estate unless at least twelve of its members are pre- 
sent. In the absence of peers legally convoked, their places 
are filled by members of the parliament. 

Of the Tattle, Impost, and Corvee^. 

No taille or impost can be levied without the consent of 
the states-general. 

The clergy, nobility, officers of superior courts ; those of 
the offices of finance, the secretaries and officers of the 
greater and lesser chanceries, charged with functions which 
confer nobility, alone enjoy the privilege of exemption from 
agricultural taille in the kingdom, conformably to the re- 
gulations fixing the extent of this privilege, and by con- 
forming themselves, for the officers of the courts and those 
of the offices of finance, to the declaration of the 13th July, 
1764. 

The officers commensal es, those of elections, and those 
among the officers of judicature or finance, who were ex- 
empt from taille, are maintained in the privilege of exemp- 

* Remonst. of the Pari, of Paris, 26th July 1718, 

* Edict of July 1644. 

$ Decree of the Court of Peers, A.D. 1224. 
§ Edict of July 1766. 



92 CONSTITUTION OP FRANCE 

tion from personal taille, by conforming themselves to the 
declaration of 13th July 1764, and on condition that they 
take no land to farm, exercise no trade, and do no act de- 
rogatory to their privileges. The provosts, lieutenants 
and exempts of the companies of marshalsea enjoy ex- 
emption from personal taille in the place where their duty 
requires residence, so long as they permanently reside there, 
and in like manner, commit no act of degradation. 

If the inhabitants of free towns who, in virtue of letters 
patent, enjoy exemption from taille, carry on any agricul- 
tural pursuits within the bounds of parishes subject to the 
taille ; or if whether on the general account of the corpo- 
ration, or individually, or by title of adjudication, they rent 
any lands within the said parishes, they shall be liable to 
the taille in these parishes. 

The inhabitants of free towns, as well as the officers who 
enjoy exemption from personal taille, who shall cultivate 
their own lands in parishes subject to this tax, whether by 
their own hands, or by those of persons subject to it, shall 
be liable to the taille in the place where such cultivation 
is carried on. 

The burgesses of Paris are not liable to the taille for 
their seats or country houses, or for the cultivation of fields 
enclosed by walls, ditches or hedges, immediately joining 
the said seats or country houses. 

Personal corvees are days of labour which the lord has a 
right to exact from his copyholders, by furnishing them 
with food, without being obliged to pay them wages*. 

* The corvees were among the most odious of the feudal duties whieh 
oppressed the French peasantry previous to the Revolution. And yet 
they do not appear so intolerable from their weight as from their character. 
The author of a pamphlet on the subject, published in 1789, who forcibly 
urges their abolition, estimates the average loss to the peasant who con- 
tributed his own labour only, at about three shillings, or six days at twelve 
sous per day. Where, in addition to his own services, the cultivator was 
obliged to furnish a cart and oxen, he calculates his loss at eleven times 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 93 

The corvees vary, according to the title of the lords ; the 
copyholders on some estates being obliged to supply bodily 
labour only — on others, carts drawn by oxen or horses. 

The ecclesiastics and nobles, the officers of justice and 
finance, the commensales of the king's household, and all 
such persons as are exempt from taille, or taxed ex officio 
for this imposition, are exempt from the duty on salt. 

The Gallican Church*. 

Public excommunications, and all other ecclesiastical 
censures whatever, as well as the refusal of the sacraments, 
can neither be allowed nor employed against any one, ex- 
cept in conformity to the decrees and canons received in 
the kingdom, and duly sanctioned by the magistrates/ And 
against violations of this rule, it shall be lawful to appeal 
to the civil courts. 

The fundamental maxims on which the liberties of the 
Gallican church are founded, are as follows f • 

1 . In temporal affairs concerning the government, neither 
the pope nor the bishops have a right to use any censure 
against the king, his officers, or subaltern magistrates. 

2. The pope has no other jurisdiction in France than that 
which the king thinks proper to grant him. His nuncios 

that sum. But it must not be forgotten that this service was frequently 
exacted at the most valuable seasons of the year, at seed-time, the vintage 
and harvest. Corvees Seigneuriales, 8vo. Paris 1789. 

* Declaration of the clergy of France, 19th March 1682. Decree of 
24th May 1766. Traite des Libertes de VEglise de France, by Dr. 
Sign. Jacq. — Baumgarteu, Recueil des Actes, Titres et Memoires 
concernant les Affaires du Clerge de France. Pi thou, Traite des 
Libertes de VEglise Gallicane. & Esprit de Gerson. The Abbe Fleu- 
ry, xii. Discours sur VHist. Eccles. 

t The liberties of the Gallican church, upon the whole, consist, it may 
be said, in the right to defend itself against all the innovations which the 
Holy See has attempted to introduce into the church, with the view of 
establishing a new law to the prejudice of the common law founded on the 
ancient canons. 






94 CONSTITUTION OP FRANCE 

and legati a latere have no other functions than those of 
ambassadors, or employment than at the king's court. 
They cannot act in any judicial affair, in virtue of full 
powers from his holiness, until these powers have been 
ratified by the king, and sanctioned by the parliament. 

3. The pope cannot evoke to him any other causes than 
those which have been left to his decision by the concordate 
and other royal regulations ; and his decisions shall have 
no effect, unless in every way conformable to the laws ac- 
knowledged and expressly authorized in the kingdom. 

4. No decrees, bulls, briefs, or other expeditions of the 
court of Rome, can be received and held valid in the king- 
dom, until their promulgation has been ordered by the 
king's letters-patent, enregistered by the courts of the 
kingdom. 

5. The convocation and holding of councils, as well as 
the confirmation of their decrees, depend on the sovereign, 
and not on the consent of the pope. 

6. The king has power to enact laws bearing on the be- 
haviour of the clergy and the exercise of their authority, 
without any necessity for a council or the consent of the 
Holy See. He may refuse his sanction to ecclesiastical 
laws which have for their object the subjecting any one in 
his dominions, under any external penalties whatever, to 
the censure of the church. 

7. The pope cannot, under any pretence whatever, levy 
any impost in the kingdom, or exact money from any one, 
beyond the contributions which are granted him by the 
concordate. The king has a right to levy impositions on 
the ecclesiastics of his kingdom without the pope's consent. 

8. There cannot be formed any new establishment of 
colleges, regular houses, communities, seminaries, or bro- 
therhoods, whether of orders already established, or of new 
religious orders, without letters-patent from the king. The 
institutes or rules of these orders are subject to the autho- 



BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 95 

rity of the magistrates, who have also the power of modify- 
ing them. The king has equally a right to dissolve any 
religious order whatever*. 

9. The king has the power of appointing to all the arch- 
bishopricks and bishopricks of France ; to all deaneries, 
abbacies, prelacies, and other superior offices in convents ; 
with the exception of such as for the more sure mainte- 
nance of austerity and monastic discipline, have been left 
to the appointment of the religious. 

10. The king enjoys throughout the kingdom temporal 
and spiritual regality. 

1 1 . Every ecclesiastical jurisdiction is subordinate to the 
secular judge : When a sentence is pronounced by a church 
court, if there be proved any encroachment on the part of 
the ecclesiastical on the royal jurisdiction, contravention to 
the ordinances of the kingdom, to the ancient canons or 
liberties of the Gallican church, or to the decrees of regu- 
lation of the courts, the business is evoked by the parlia- 
ments, who appeal against the sentence of the ecclesiastical 
court. 

12. The political magistrate has a general right of in- 
spection over all that concerns external discipline, and the 
exercise of authority by the clergy. The courts have a 
right, even when there is no appeal or complaint, to exa- 
mine all writings, works and actions whatever of the 
clergy, and to proceed against every thing which is found 
to encroach on the liberties of the church, or to be contrary 
to good order and public tranquillity. 

13. All clergymen are exempt from every kind of exter- 
nal jurisdiction and impost. They cannot be compelled to 
appear out of the kingdom. 

14. All ecclesiastics, without distinction, are at liberty to 
appeal to the temporal authority against the abuses of their 
superiors, without having to dread any kind of censure. 

* Edicts of September, 1764 and 176S. 



96 CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE 

15. The kings of France, at their coronation, are obliged 
to take an oath to maintain the freedom and immunities of 
the Gallican church *. 

Lettres de Cachet f . 

Lettres de cachet emanate from the king : they must be 
signed by him, and countersigned by a secretary of state. 

They contain, 1. The name and titles of the person to 
whom they are addressed ; 2d. The order which the king 
gives him. 

Lettres de cachet cannot be employed except in the two 
following cases : 1 . For enjoining certain political bodies 
to assemble and deliberate on certain subjects ; 2. For inti- 
mating to any one an order, or notice from the prince J. 

The magistrates ought to pay no regard to lettres-closes 
granted in the matter of justice; in which case the apposi- 
tion of the king's great seal is necessary. 

This restriction has effect only when the letters contain 
new regulations and not particular orders. A person im- 
prisoned unjustly in virtue of a lettre de cachet, may prove 
the injustice done him, and obtain damages against the 
person who procured the letter. 

Exile may be pronounced by the king, for reasons known 
to him alone. 

An exiled person who leaves the place assigned to him in 
order to withdraw from the kingdom, is punished with 
confiscation of body and goods. 

* We have thought it the more necessary to go somewhat into detail on 
this subject, since the rules here laid down still form the actual state of 
legislation relative to it. 

f Ordinance of June 1316. Of Orleans, art. 91 ; of Blois, and of* 
Moulins. Decree of the Pari, 3dDec.l551, reported inLe Traitedela 
Police, torn. i. 1. 1. c. 2. p. 133, first col. Decrees of 9th June 1769, and 
3d April 1770. Max. du Dr. Fr., chap. 3. 

% Lettres de cachet were most frequently issued for sending persons into 
exile, or for declaring them prisoners. 






BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 97 

CONVOCATION OF THE STATES-GENERAL. 

As ideas of liberty became more prevalent in France, the 
abuses of government became the more intolerable. On 
the other hand, the disorder which reigned in the finances 
compelled the government to have recourse to extraordinary 
measures. It was reduced to the alternative of using vio- 
lence, or calling the nation to its aid. The exile of the 
parliaments, and the bed of justice of 6th August 1787, 
proving ineffectual, recourse was had to more reasonable 
measures. But the assemblies convoked by the crown, in- 
stead of confining themselves to the task of replenishing the 
treasury, which was the chief end the government had in 
view, carried their inquiries into other parts of the admi- 
nistration, and shewed a much stronger disposition to cor- 
rect its vices than to contribute to its wants. These senti- 
ments influenced the two assemblies of notables called to- 
gether in 1787 and 1788, and broke out openly in the assem- 
bly of the states-general. 

The attempts of Calonne and Neckar to ameliorate the 
state of the finances had proved fruitless ; while the discus- 
sions about the mode of electing deputies to the states- 
general had also served to excite discontent and irritation. 
The king's council decided that the deputies should be at 
least a thousand in number, that the representation of each 
bailiwick should be in a proportion compounded of its 
population and contributions, and what was of most im- 
portance, that the deputies of the third estate should be 
equal in number to those of the two other orders together. 

The preponderance of the third estate was soon apparent. 
The addresses of this body demanded a free constitution, 
required that order should be restored in the finances, and 
that the disbursements and receipts should be regulated by 
law. Their pretensions, generally speaking, were limited 
to the rights which form the basis of our present govern- 
ment, and were, perhaps, not so much exaggerated in them- 

Vol. I. II 



98 CONSTITUTION OF PRANCE, 

selves, as ill timed. The nobility and clergy renounced 
their pecuniary privileges. 

On the 5th May 1788, took place the opening of the 
states-general. The speeches of the king, the keeper of the 
seals, and Neckar, evinced the good intentions of govern- 
ment, but failed in giving satisfaction to the third estate. 

A division broke out in the assembly. It was disputed 
whether the states should vote by head or by order. The 
nobility and clergy adhered to the mode which assured them 
the superiority. The third estate resisted ; and after a 
fruitless attempt to draw over the other two orders, pro- 
ceeded to constitute themselves as a national assembly ; a 
great many of the clergy joining their party. 

This took place the 17th June. On the 23d, the king 
came to the assembly, declared the acts passed by it of no 
effect, and commanded the distinction of the three orders 
to subsist. He made some concessions : but there was still 
no promise of a constitution, no intention manifested of 
granting the states-general a portion of the legislative au- 
thority, of establishing the responsibility of ministers, or 
the freedom of the press. And at length the formal order 
to dissolve was given. 

This order was resisted by the third estate. They conti- 
nued their deliberations ; and a majority of the clergy, with 
some members of the nobility, adopted the same sentiments. 
The king was reduced to the necessity of giving way, and 
consenting to the union of the three orders in one and the 
same assembly. The constituent assembly was then recog- 
nised. Its first decrees abolished tithes, the feudal system, 
annates, the dispensations and provisions of the court of 
Rome. All the privileges of order, whether of province, 
town, corporation, or of individuals, successively disap- 
peared. The territory of the kingdom was divided anew. 
And at length the famous declaration of the rights of man 
was decreed, for serving as a preamble to the new consti- 
tution. 



99 



CONSTITUTION 
DECREED BY THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY, 

3 SEPTEMBER, 1791. 



Declaration of the Rights of Man and of a Citizen. 

The representatives of the French people, constituted as 
a national assembly, considering that ignorance, neglect, 
and contempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of 
public calamities, and the corruption of governments, have 
resolved to make known in a solemn declaration, the natu- 
ral, inalienable, and sacred rights of man ; to the end that 
this declaration, constantly present to all the members of 
the social body, may continually remind them of their rights 
and duties — to the end that the acts of the legislative power, 
and those of the executive power, capable of being at each 
instant compared with the object of every political institu- 
tion, may be more respected, and that the claims of citi- 
zens, henceforward established on simple and incontestable 
principles, may always tend to the maintenance of the con- 
stitution, and the happiness of all. 

In consequence, the national assembly, in the presence 
and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, acknow- 
ledges and declares the following rights of man and a 
citizen. 

Art. 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. 
The distinctions of society can only be founded on the pub- 
lic good. 

2. The end of every political association is the preserva- 
tion of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. 
These rights are, liberty, property, security, and resistance 
to oppression. 

H 2 



100 CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 

3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in 
the nation. No body, no individual, can exercise any 
authority which does not expressly emanate from it. 

4. Liberty consists in being able to do every thing which 
does no injury to another. Thus the exercise of the natural 
rights of every man, has no limits but those which assure 
to other members of society, the enjoyment of the same 
rights. These limits can only be determined by law. 

5. The law has the right of prohibiting those actions 
only which are injurious to society. What is not forbidden 
by the law cannot be prevented ; and no one can be com- 
pelled to do what it does not ordain. 

6. The law is the expression of the general will. Every 
citizen, either in person or by his representative, has a 
right to concur in its formation. It should be the same for 
all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens being 
equal in the eye of the law, are equally admissible to all 
dignities, places and public employments, according to their 
capacity, and without any distinction except that of their 
virtues and talents. 

7. No man can be accused, arrested or detained, except 
in the cases determined by the law, and according to the 
forms which it prescribes. Those who solicit, expedite, 
execute or cause to be executed arbitrary orders, should be 
punished ; but every citizen summoned or apprehended in 
pursuance of the law, ought instantly to obey. 

8. The law should establish those penalties only which 
are strictly and evidently necessary. And no one can be 
punished, except in virtue of a law passed and promulgated 
before the commission of the crime, and legally applied. 

9. Every man being presumed innocent until he is found 
guilty; whenever it is deemed indispensable to arrest a 
citizen, every kind of severity beyond what is necessary for 
the security of his person ought to be strictly prohibited by 
law. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 101 

10. No one ought to be disquieted on account of his 
opinions, even those on religious subjects, provided the 
public order established by law, be not disturbed by their 
publicity. 

1 1 . The free communication of thoughts and opinions is 
* one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen, 

^^ therefore, is at liberty to speak, write and print freely, 
(^saving his liability to answer for the abuse of this liberty, 
^ in such cases as are determined by law. 
^ 12. The security of the rights of man and a citizen 
^ requires a public force : this force, therefore, is instituted 

for the advantage of all, and not for the particular use of 

those to whom it is intrusted. 

13. A general contribution is indispensable for the main- 
tenance of the public force, and for defraying the expenses 
of government. It ought to be distributed amongst all the 
citizens in proportion to their means. 

14. Every citizen either in person or by his represen- 
tative has a right to verify the necessity of the public 
contribution, of freely consenting to it, of attending to the 
use made of it, and of determining the quota, assessment, 
collection, and duration of it. 

15. Society has a right to demand from every public 
agent an account of his administration. 

16. Every society in which the guarantee of rights is not 
secured, neither the separation of powers determined, has 
no constitution. 

17. Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no 
one can be deprived of it, unless when public necessity 
legally proved, evidently requires it, and on condition of a 
just and previous indemnity *. 

* This declaration was made in August, 17S9. 



102 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 



CONSTITUTION. 



The national assembly, wishing to establish the French 
constitution on the principles which it has just recognised 
and proclaimed, abolishes for ever the institutions which 
are hurtful to liberty and equality of rights. 

There no longer exists any order of nobility, any peer- 
age, hereditary distinctions, distinctions of order, feudal 
regime, patrimonial justice, or any titles, denominations, 
or prerogatives which were thence derived, any order 
of knighthood, or any corporation or decoration for 
which proofs of nobility were required, or which supposed 
distinctions of birth, or any other superiority than that 
of the public functionaries in the exercise of their 
functions. 

No public office is any longer saleable or hereditary. 

There no longer exists, for any part of the nation, or 
any individual, any privilege or exception to the common 
right of all Frenchmen. 

There is no longer any wardenship, corporation of pro- 
fessions, arts, or crafts. 

The law no longer recognises any religious vows, or any 
other engagement contrary to natural rights and the con- 
stitution. 

Title I. — Fundamental Dispositions guaranteed by the 
Constitution. 

The constitution guarantees, as natural and civil rights : 

1. That all citizens, without any distinction except that 
of virtue and capacity, be admissible to places and em- 
ployments. 

2. That all contributions be distributed among the 
citizens, in proportion to their ability. 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 103 

3. That the same offences be punished with the same 
punishments, without any distinction of persons. 

The constitution also guarantees to all citizens, as na- 
tural and civil rights ; 

The liberty of going, remaining, departing, without 
being liable to arrest or detention, except according to the 
forms determined by the constitution ; 

The liberty of speaking, writing, printing, and publishing 
their sentiments, without their writings being liable to any 
censureship or inspection before their publication ; and 
of exercising the religious worship to which they are 
attached ; 

The liberty of assembling peaceably and without arms, 
conformably to the laws of police. 

Liberty of addressing to the constituted authorities peti- 
tions signed individually. 

The legislative power cannot frame laws, tending to 
injure or obstruct the exercise of the natural and civil 
rights laid down in the present title, and guaranteed by 
the constitution ; but, as liberty consists only in the ability 
to do what is not hurtful to the rights of another or the 
public safety, the law can inflict punishment on actions 
which, attacking either public safety or the rights of 
others, might be prejudicial to society. 

The constitution guarantees the inviolability of property, 
or a just and previous compensation for that, of which the 
public necessity legally proved might require the sacrifice. 

The effects destined to defray the expenses of religious 
worship, and for all services of public utility, belong to the 
nation, and are at all times at its disposal. 

The constitution guarantees the alienations which have 
already been, or which shall be hereafter made according 
to the forms established by law. 

The citizens have a right to elect or choose the ministers 
of their religion. 



104 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

There shall be created and organized a general establish- 
ment of public succours for bringing up deserted children, 
relieving the infirm poor, and furnishing labour to the 
poor in health, who shall not have been able to procure it. 

There shall be created and organized a system of public 
instruction, common to all the citizens, gratuitous with 
regard to those parts of education indispensable for all 
men ; and of which the establishments shall be distributed 
gradually, and with reference to the division of the kingdom. 

National festivals shall be instituted for preserving the 
memory of the French Revolution, for keeping up brotherly 
love amongst the citizens, for attaching them to the con- 
stitution, to their country, and the laws. 

A code of civil laws common to the whole kingdom shall 
be framed. 

Title II. — On the Division of the Kingdom, and the State 

of Citizens. 

Art. 1. The kingdom is one and indivisible : its territory 
is divided into eighty-three departments, each department 
into districts, each district into cantons. 

2. French citizens are those born in France, of a French 
father : 

Those who, born in France of a foreign father, have 
fixed their residence in the kingdom : 

Those who, born in a foreign country of a French father, 
have settled in France, and taken the civic oath : 

Finally, those who, born in a foreign country and de- 
scended in any degree whatever from a Frenchman or 
Frenchwoman expatriated for the sake of religion, come 
to reside in France, and take the civic oath. 

3. Those who, born out of the kingdom of foreign 
parents, are resident in France, become French citizens 
after five years' continued domicil in the kingdom, if they 
have acquired there property in immoveables, or espoused 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 105 

a French woman, or formed an agricultural or commercial 
establishment, and if they have taken the civic oath. 

4. The legislative authority shall have the power of con- 
ferring, for grave considerations, an act of naturalization 
on a foreigner, on no other condition than that of fixing 
his abode in France, and taking the civic oath. 

5. The civic oath is: " / swear to be faithful to the 
nation, the law, and the king, and to maintain to the utmost 
of my power the constitution of the kingdom decreed by the 
national constituent assembly in the years 1789, 1790, 
and 1791." 

6. The rank of French citizen is lost ; 1st. by naturali- 
zation in a foreign country: 2d. by condemnation to 
penalties importing civic degradation, so long as the con- 
demned person is not reinstated : 3d. by a sentence of con- 
tumacy, so long as such sentence remains in force ; 4th. by 
affiliation to any order of foreign knighthood, or to any fo- 
reign corporation which supposes either proofs of nobility 
or distinctions of birth, or which requires religious vows. 

7. The law considers marriage as a civil contract only. 
The legislative power shall establish an uniform mode, 
applicable to all persons without distinction, by which 
births, marriages, and deaths shall be verified ; and it shall 
appoint the public officers who are to receive and pre- 
serve the records of them. 

8. The French citizens, considered with reference to the 
local relations which spring form their union in towns, and 
in certain arrondissements of territory, form communes. 

The legislative authority shall determine the extent of 
the arrondissement of each commune. 

9. The citizens composing each commune have a right 
to elect for a time, according to the forms determined by 
law, those amongst them who, under the title of municipal 
officers, are charged with conducting the particular affairs 
of the commune. 



106 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

Certain functions relating to the general interest of the 
state may be delegated to the municipal officers. 

10. The rules which the municipal officers shall be 
obliged to follow in the exercise, as well of their municipal 
functions, as of those delegated to them for the general 
interest, shall be determined by law. 

Title III.— Of the Public Powers. 

Art. 1. The sovereignty is one, indivisible, inalienable, 
and imprescriptible : It belongs to the nation : No portion 
of the people, no individual can arrogate to himself the 
exercise of it. 

2. The nation, from which alone all powers emanate, 
cannot exercise them except by delegation. 

The French constitution is representative : the repre- 
sentatives are the legislative body and the king. 

3. The legislative power is delegated to a national 
assembly composed of representatives holding their seats 
for a time, freely elected by the people, to be exercised by 
the said assembly with the sanction of the king, in the 
manner which shall be hereafter determined. 

4. The government is monarchical : the executive power 
is delegated to the king, to be exercised under his autho- 
rity, by ministers and other responsible agents, in the 
manner which shall be hereafter determined. 

5. The judicial power is delegated to judges elected for a 
time by the people. 

Chapter I. — The National Legislative Assembly. 

Art. 1. The national assembly forming the legislative 
body, is permanent, and is composed of one chamber 
only. 

2. It shall be formed, every two years, by new elections. 
Every period of two years shall form a legislature. 

3. The dispositions of the preceding article shall not 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 107 

take effect with regard to the next legislative body, of 
which the powers shall cease the last day of April 1793. 

4. The renewal of the legislative body shall take place 
of full right. 

5. The legislative body cannot be dissolved by the king. 

§ 1. Number of Representatives. Basis of Representation. 

Art. 1. The number of representatives to the legislative 
body is seven hundred and forty-five, on account of the 
eighty-three departments composing the kingdom, and 
independently of those which might be granted to the 
colonies. 

2. The representatives are distributed amongst the eighty- 
three departments in the three proportions of territory, 
population, and direct contribution. 

3. Of the seven hundred and forty-five representatives, 
two hundred and forty-seven are attached to the territory. 

Each department, with the exception of that of Paris, 
appoints three ; the department of Paris one only. 

4. Two hundred and forty-nine representatives are as- 
signed to the population. 

The whole mass of the active population of the kingdom 
is divided into two hundred and forty-nine parts ; and 
each department appoints as many deputies as it con- 
tains parts of population. 

5. Two hundred and forty-nine representatives are 
attached to the direct contribution. 

The sum total of the direct contribution of the kingdom 
is also divided into two hundred and forty-nine parts ; and 
each department appoints as many deputies as it pays parts 
of contribution. 

§ 2. Primary Assemblies. Nomination of Electors. 

Art. 1. In order to form the national legislative assembly, 
the active citizens in towns and cantons shall meet every 
two years in primary assemblies. 



108 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

The primary assemblies shall meet of full right, the 
second Sunday in March, unless convoked earlier by the 
public functionaries appointed by law. 

2. To constitute an active citizen, it is necessary to be a 
Frenchman by birth or naturalization ; to have attained 
the full age of twenty-five years ; to have been settled in 

^ the town or canton the time fixed by law ; to pay in some 
place within the kingdom, a direct contribution equal at 
least to the value of three days' labour, and to have the 
receipt for such contribution forthcoming ; not to be in a 
state of domesticity, that is, of a servant at wages ; to be 
enrolled in the municipality of his domicil on the list of 
national guards ; and to have taken the civic oath. 

3. Every six years the legislative body shall fix the 
minimum and maximum of the value of a day's labour ; 
and the administrators of departments shall from thence 
fix the local value for each district. 

4. No person can exercise the rights of active citizen in 
more than one place, or cause himself to be represented by 
another. 

5. The following are excluded from the rights of active 
citizens : Those who are in a state of accusation ; those 
who after having been declared in a state of bankruptcy or 
insolvency, proved by authentic documents, do not produce 
a general acquittance from their creditors. 

6. The primary assemblies appoint electors in proportion 
to the number of active citizens domiciliated in the town 
or canton ; one elector being chosen for a hundred active 
citizens, present or not in the assembly ; two for one hun- 
dred and fifty-one to two hundred ; and so on. 

7. No one can be chosen an elector who does not add to 
the qualifications necessary for constituting an active citizen, 
the conditions following : In towns of above six thousand 
souls, that of having property or the usufruct of property, 
valued on the rolls of contribution at a rent equal to the 
local value of 200 days' labour, or of being tenant (loca- 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 109 

taire) of a habitation, rated on the same lists at a rent 
equal to the value of 150 days' labour. 

In towns under six thousand souls, that of having pro- 
perty or the usufruct of property, rated on the lists of con- 
tribution at a revenue equal to the local value of 150 
days' labour, or of being tenant (locataire) of a habitation 
rated on the same lists, at a revenue equal to the value of 
100 days' labour. 

And in the country, that of having property or the usu- 
fruct of property, rated on the lists of contribution at a 
revenue equal to the local value of 150 days' labour, or of 
being farmer or metayer * of property rated on the same 
lists, at the value of 400 days' labour. 

With respect to those who have the property or usufruct 
of one part, and are renters, farmers or metayers of 
another, their qualifications under these different heads 
shall be estimated in the gross, to the proportion necessary 
for establishing their eligibility. 

§ 3. Electoral Assemblies. Nomination of Representatives. 

Art. 1 . The electors appointed in each department shall 
meet together for electing the number of representatives 
assigned to their department, and a number of supplemen- 
taries equal to one-third that of the representatives. 

The electoral assemblies shall form of full right the last 
Sunday of March, unless convoked earlier by the public 
functionaries appointed by law. 

2. The representatives and supplementaries shall be 
elected by an absolute majority of votes, and be chosen 
from among the active citizens of the department only. 

3. All active citizens, whatever may be their condition, 
profession, or contribution, are qualified for being elected 
representatives of the nation. 

4. Excepting nevertheless, the ministers and other agents 

* A metayer is a cultivator who pays for the hire of his farm, a certain 
portion of the produce and stock which he raises on it. 



110 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

of the executive power, holding their offices at will, the 
commissioners of the national treasury, the assessors and 
receivers of direct contributions, the overseers for the 
assessment and administration of indirect contributions 
and the national domains, and those who under any deno- 
mination whatever, are attached to employments in the 
military and civil household of the king. 

Excepting also, administrators, sub-administrators, mu- 
nicipal officers, and the commanders of the national guards. 

5. The exercise of judicial functions is incompatible 
with that of representative of the nation, during the 
whole duration of the legislature. Judges shall be re- 
placed by their supplementaries ; and the king shall pro- 
vide by brevets of commission for replacing his commis- 
sioners in the tribunals. 

6. The members of the legislative body shall be eligible 
to the following legislature, but after that, the interval of 
one legislature must elapse before they can be again 
eligible. 

7. The representatives nominated in the departments are 
not representatives of a particular department, but of the 
nation entire. No instructions can be given them. 

§ 4. Of the Holding and Government of Primary and 
Electoral Assemblies. 

Art. 1 . The functions of the primary and electoral as- 
semblies are limited to election. They shall separate im- 
mediately after the elections are completed, and cannot 
form anew until convoked, unless in the cases laid down 
in section ii. art. 1, and section iii. art. 1, above. 

2. No active citizen can enter or give his vote in an as- 
sembly, if armed. 

3. An armed force cannot be introduced into the interior 
without the express wish of the assembly, unless violence 
is committed there. In this case, an order of the president 
is sufficient for calling in the public force. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. Ill 

4. Every two years, in every district, there shall be drawn 
up lists by cantons of the active citizens ; and the list of 
each canton shall be published and posted up therein two 
months before the period fixed for the meeting of the pri- 
mary assembly. 

The protests which may be made, either against the rights 
of citizens inscribed on the list, or on the part of such as 
conceive themselves to be unjustly omitted, shall be carried 
to the tribunals, to be there summarily decided. 

This list shall serve as a rule for the admission of citi- 
zens into the next primary assembly, as to every thing that 
shall not have been rectified by judgments delivered before 
the meeting of the assembly. 

5. The electoral assemblies have the right of verifying 
the qualifications and powers of those who present them- 
selves ; their decisions being carried into provisional exe- 
cution, with a reserve for the sentence of the legislative 
body, when it verifies the powers of its deputies. 

6. In no case, and under no pretext, can the king, or any 
agent appointed by him, take cognizance of questions re- 
lating to the regularity of convocations, to the holding of 
assemblies, to the form of elections, or to the political 
rights of citizens ; without prejudice nevertheless to the 
functions of the king's commissioners in such cases as re- 
lating to questions concerning the political rights of citi- 
zens, are ordered by law to be brought before the tribunals. 

§ 5. Meeting of the Representatives as a National Legis- 
lative Assembly. 

Art. 1 . The representatives shall meet, the first Monday 
in May, in the place where the last legislature held its 
sessions. 

2. They form themselves provisionally as an assembly, 
under the presidency of the senior in age, for verifying the 
powers of the representatives present. 



112 CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 

3. When they amount to the number of three hundred 
and seventy-three members duly verified, they constitute 
themselves under the title of National Legislative Assem- 
bly. This assembly shall appoint a president, vice-pre- 
sident, and secretaries, and enter upon the exercise of its 
functions. 

4. During all the month of May, if the representatives 
present fall short of three hundred and seventy- three, the 
assembly is not competent to any legislative act. 

It has power to pass a decree, enjoining absent mem- 
bers to appear and enter upon the exercise of their func- 
tions within fifteen days at farthest, and this under the 
penalty of 3000 livres, unless such an excuse be offered as 
shall be judged legitimate by the assembly. 

5. On the last day of May, whatever be the number of 
members present, they shall constitute themselves a national 
legislative assembly. 

6. The representatives shall pronounce all together, in 
the name of the French people, the oath, to live free or 
die. 

They shall then take individually, the oath to maintain 
to the utmost of their power, the constitution of the kingdom, 
decreed by the national constituent assembly in the years 
1789, 1790, and 1791 ; and neither to propose nor consent to 
any thing which might tend to injure it ; and to be in all 
things true to the nation, to the law, and the king. 

7. The representatives of the nation are inviolable ; they 
cannot at any time be called to an account, be accused or 
judged, for what they may have said, written or done in the 
discharge of their functions as representatives. 

8. They are liable, for a criminal action, to be appre- 
hended in the fact, or in virtue of an order of arrest ; but 
notice of such arrest must be given without delay to the 
legislative body, and the prosecution cannot be carried on 
without a resolution of the assembly to that effect. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 113 

Chapter II. — The Regal Dignity, the Regency, and the King, 

§ 1 . The Regal Dignity and the King. 

Art. 1. The regal dignity is indivisible, and delegated to 
the reigning family, in hereditary descent from male to 
male, in the order of primogeniture, to the perpetual ex- 
clusion of women and their posterity. 

(Nothing is pre-determined on the effect of renuncia- 
tions in the family now on the throne.) 

2. The king's person is inviolable and sacred : his sole 
title is, King of the French. 

3. No authority in France is superior to that of the law. 
The king reigns by it alone, and in the name of the law 
only can exact obedience. 

4. The king, on his accession to the throne, or when he 
attains his majority, shall take to the nation, in presence of 
the legislative body, an oath to be true to the nation and 
the law, to employ all the power delegated to him, in main- 
taining the constitution decreed by the national constituent 
assembly in the years 1789, 1790 and 1791, and to make the 
laws executed. 

Should the legislative body not be in session at the time, 
the king shall publish a proclamation, containing this oath, 
with the promise of repeating it as soon as that assembly 
meets . 

5. If one month after the invitation of the legislative 
body, the king shall not have taken this oath, or if, having 
taken it, he retracts, he shall be deemed to have abdicated 
the throne. 

6. If the king should place himself at the head of an 
army and direct it against the nation, or if he should not 
discountenance by a formal act, such an enterprise when 
undertaken in his name, he shall be deemed to have abdi- 
cated the throne. 

Vol. I. I 



H4 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

7. If the king, having left the kingdom, should not re- 
turn when invited so to do by the legislative body, and 
within the period fixed by proclamation, (which period 
shall not be less than two months,) he shall be deemed to 
have abdicated the throne. 

The time allowed for his return shall count from the day 
in which the proclamation of the legislative body is pub- 
lished in the place of its session : and the ministers shall be 
obliged, on their responsibility, to perform all the acts of 
executive power, of which the exercise shall be suspended 
in the hands of the absent king. 

8. After abdication, whether express or legal, the king 
shall rank in the class of citizens, and like them be liable 
to be accused or judged, for actions subsequent to his ab- 
dication. 

9. The private property which the king possesses at his 
accession to the throne is for ever united to the national 
domains. He has the disposal of that which he acquires 
on his own private account ; but if he does not dispose of 
it, it is at the end of his reign, in like manner annexed to 
the national domain. 

10. The nation provides for the splendour of the throne 
by a civil list, of which the legislative body at every new 
reign fixes the amount for the whole duration of such reign. 

1 1 . The king shall appoint an administrator of the civil 
list, who shall institute civil suits in the name of the king, 
and against whom all actions for debt due by the civil list 
shall be directed, and judgments given. The sentences ob- 
tained by the creditors of the civil list shall be executable 
against the administrator, personally, and his property. 

12. The king, independently of the guard of honour 
furnished him by the citizens, national guards o£-the place 
of his residence, shall have a guard paid from the funds 
of the civil list. It cannot exceed 1200 infantry, and 600 
cavalry. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 115 

The ranks and rules of promotion shall be the same in 
the guard as in the troops of the line ; but those who com- 
pose it shall go through all the ranks exclusively in their 
own corps, and cannot obtain any in the regular army. 

The king cannot select men for the formation of his 
guard, except from among such as are actually on service 
in the troops of the line, or from among citizens who for a 
year past have been on service as national guards, provided 
also they reside in the kingdom and have previously taken 
the civic oath. 

The king's guard shall not be subject to order or requi- 
sition for any public service. 

§ 2. Of the Regency. 

Art. 1 . The king is a minor until he has attained the full 
age of eighteen years ; and during his minority, a regent of 
the kingdom discharges his functions. 

2. The regency belongs to the king's relation, next in 
degree according to the order of succession to the throne, 
and who has attained the full age of twenty-five years ; that 
is, provided he be a Frenchman and denizen, that he be 
not presumptive heir to another crown, and that he has 
previously taken the civic oath. 

Women are excluded from the regency. 

3. If the minor king has no relation possessing the qua- 
lifications above named, the regent of the kingdom shall be 
elected after the following manner. 

4. The legislative body cannot elect the regent. 

5. The electors of each district shall meet in the chief 
place of the district, in pursuance of a proclamation to be 
made in the first week of the new reign by the legislative 
body, if in session, and if separated, by the minister of 
justice, who shall be obliged to make the said proclamation 
the same week. 

6. The electors in each district shall appoint, by indi- 

12 



116 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

vidual scrutiny and the absolute majority of suffrages, a 
citizen eligible, and settled in the district, to whom by the 
proces-verbal of election they shall give an especial order 
limited to the single duty of choosing the citizen whom, in 
his soul and conscience, he shall judge most worthy of be- 
ing regent of the kingdom. 

7. The citizen agents thus appointed in the districts, shall 
assemble in the town where the legislative body sits, at the 
latest on the fortieth day from that of the young king's 
accession to the throne : they shall there form an electoral 
assembly, and proceed to the appointment of regent. 

8. The election of regent shall be made by individual 
scrutiny and by the absolute majority of suffrages. 

9. The powers of the electoral assembly are limited to 
the election of regent. It shall separate when the election 
is made ; and any other act that it might undertake is de- 
clared unconstitutional and of no effect. 

10. The electoral assembly shall present through its pre- 
sident the proces-verbal of the election to the legislative 
body ; and this body, having verified the regularity of the 
election, shall make it known throughout the kingdom by 
proclamation. 

11. The regent, until the king's majority, exercises all 
the functions of royalty, and is not personally responsible 
for the acts of his administration. 

12. The regent cannot enter upon the functions of his 
office until he has taken to the nation, in presence of the 
legislative body, an oath to be true to the nation, to the law 
and the king, to employ all the power delegated to the king, 
and of which the exercise is intrusted to him during the 
king^s minority, in maintaining the constitution decreed by 
the national constituent assembly in the years 1789, 1790 
and 1791 ; and to make the laws executed. Should the le- 
gislative body not be in session at the time, the regent shall 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 117 

publish a proclamation containing this oath, with the pro- 
mise of repeating it as soon as the legislative body meets. 

13. As long as the regent has not entered on the exercise 
of his functions, the sanction of the laws remains suspend- 
ed : the ministers, on their responsibility, continuing to 
perform all the acts of executive power. 

14. As soon as the regent has taken the oath, the legis- 
lative body shall determine his salary : this cannot be 
changed during the continuance of the regency. 

15. If, in consequence of the non-age of the relation 
called to the regency, this office has devolved on a more 
distant relation, or has been conferred by election, the re- 
gent who has entered on its duties shall continue to dis- 
charge them until the king's majority. 

16. The regency of the kingdom does not confer any right 
over the person of the minor king. 

17. The guardianship of the young king shall be intrust- 
ed to his mother : if he has no mother, or if she be re- 
married at the time of her son's accession to the throne, or 
remarries during his minority, the guardianship shall be 
settled by the legislative body. 

The regent, his descendants, and women, are excluded 
from the guardianship of the minor king. 

18. In case of the king's mental incapacity, notoriously 
acknowledged, legally proved, and declared by the legisla- 
tive body after three deliberations taken in succession from 
month to month, a regency is declared necessary during the 
continuance of such mental incapacity. 

§3. Of the King's Family. 

Art. 1. The presumptive heir shall bear the name of 
prince royal. 

He cannot leave the kingdom without a decree of the 
legislative body, and the king's consent. 

If he is absent, and if, after havins: attained the age of 



118 CONSTITUTION OF 1 1791. 

eighteen years, he does not return to France when required 
by a proclamation of the legislative body, he shall be deem- 
ed to have abdicated his right of succession to the throne. 

2. If the presumptive heir be a minor, the nearest rela- 
tion of the requisite age, liable to be called to the regency, 
is obliged to reside in the kingdom. 

In the event of his being absent, should he not return on 
the requisition of the legislative body, he shall be deemed 
to have abdicated his right to the regency. 

3. If the mother of the minor king intrusted with his 
guardianship, or the guardian elect, leave the kingdom, 
they forfeit their trust. 

Should the mother of the presumptive minor heir leave 
the kingdom, she cannot, even after her return, have the 
guardianship of her son, who still a minor, has succeeded 
to the throne, except in pursuance of a decree of the legis- 
lative body. 

4. A law shall be enacted for regulating the education 
of the minor king, and that of the presumptive minor heir. 

5. The members of the king's family liable to be called 
to the eventual succession to the throne, enjoy the rights of 
active citizens, but are not eligible to any places, employ- 
ments or functions in the nomination of the people. 

With the exception of departments in the ministry, they 
are eligible to employments and places in the king's nomi- 
nation : notwithstanding, they cannot command any land 
or naval armament, or discharge the functions of ambassa- 
dor, unless with the consent of the legislative body, granted 
on the king's proposition. 

6. The members of the royal family liable to be called 
to the eventual succession to the throne, add the denomi- 
nation of French prince to the name given them in the 
civil act verifying their birth ; and this name shall be neither 
patronymick, nor composed of any qualifications abolished 
by the present constitution. The denomination of prince 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 119 

cannot be given to any other individual, and shall import 
no privilege or exception to the common right of all 
Frenchmen. 

7. The instruments by which the births, marriages and 
deaths of the French princes are legally verified, shall be 
presented to the legislative body, which shall order their 
deposit in its archives. 

8. There shall not be granted to a member of the king's 
family any real appanage (in land). The king's younger 
sons, on attaining the full age of twenty-five years, or at 
their marriage, shall receive an annuity. This shall be 
fixed by the legislative body, and terminate on the extinc- 
tion of their masculine posterity. 

§ 4. Of Ministers. 

Art. 1. The choice and dismission of ministers belong to 
the king alone. 

2. The members of the present national assembly and 
following legislatures, the members of the tribunal of cas- 
sation, and those who serve in the high jury, cannot be 
promoted to the ministry; neither can they receive any 
places, gifts, pensions, maintenance or commission from 
the executive power or the agents thereof during the con- 
tinuance of their functions, or for two years after the ex- 
piration of such functions. The same rule shall hold with 
regard to those who are only inscribed on the list of the 
high jury, during the whole time they remain so inscribed. 

3. No one can enter on any employment, whether in the 
ministerial offices or in those for the administration and 
management of the public revenues, or in general on any 
employment in the nomination of the executive power, 
without taking the civic oath, or proving that he has 
taken it. 

4. No order of the king can be executed unless it is 



120 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

signed by him* and countersigned by the minister or chief 
of the department. 

5. The ministers are responsible for all offences commit- 
ted by them against the national safety and the constitu- 
tion ; for every attempt on property and individual liberty ; 
and for the dissipation of money destined to defray the ex- 
penses of their department. 

6* In no case can the king's order, whether verbal or 
written, shelter a minister from his responsibility. 

7< Every year at the opening of its session, the ministers 
shall present to the legislative body an account of the ex* 
penses attending their department, render an account of 
the money destined to defray the said expenses, and point 
out the abuses which may have crept into the different 
parts of the government. 

8. No minister in place, or out of place, can be crimi- 
nally prosecuted for an act of his administration without 
ft decree of the legislative body. 

Chapter III.— On the Exercise of the Legislative Power. 

| 1 . Powers and Functions of the National Legislative 
Assembly* 

Art. 1. The constitution exclusively delegates to the le- 
gislative body the powers and functions hereafter men- 
tioned i 

L That of proposing and decreeing laws. The king can 
only invite the legislative body to take a subject into con- 
sideration : 

2. Of fixing the public expenses : 

3. Of levying public contributions ; of determining the 
nature, quota, duration and mode of collecting them: 

4. Of distributing the direct contribution amongst the 
departments of the kingdom ; of superintending the em- 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 121 

ployment of all the public revenues, and causing an ac- 
count to be given of them : 

5. Of decreeing the creation or suppression of public 
offices : 

6. Of determining the standard, weight, impression, and 
denomination of coins : 

7. Of permitting or forbidding the introduction of fo- 
reign troops into the French territory, and of foreign naval 
forces into the ports of the kingdom : 

8. Of resolving annually, after the king's proposition, 
on the number of men and vessels of which the land and 
naval armaments shall be composed ; on the pay and num- 
ber of individuals of each rank ; on the rules of admission 
and promotion, the forms of enrolling and discharge, the 
formation of ships' crews ; on the admission of foreign land 
or naval forces into the service of France, and on the pen- 
sions granted to troops on being disbanded : 

9. Of determining the administration and ordering the 
alienation of the national domains : 

10. Of prosecuting before the national high court, on 
their responsibility, the ministers and principal agents of 
the executive power ; of accusing and prosecuting before 
the same court those who shall be arraigned of attempt 
and conspiracy against the general safety of the state, or 
the constitution : 

1 1 . Of framing laws to be observed in granting marks 
of honour and decorations (purely personal) on those who 
have rendered services to the state. 

12. The legislative body has alone the right of decreeing 
public honours to the memory of great men. 

Art. 2. War cannot be declared except in pursuance of a 
decree of the legislative body, passed on a formal and neces- 
sary proposition from the king, and by him sanctioned. 

When the state is threatened with hostilities or they 
have actually commenced, or when it is necessary to sup- 



122 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

port an ally or defend a right by force of arms, the king 
shall notify this without delay to the legislative body and 
make known the causes thereof. 

If the legislative body be not in session, the king shall 
immediately convoke it. 

If the legislative body decide that war ought not to be 
made, the king shall immediately take measures for termi- 
nating or preventing hostilities, the minister being respon- 
sible for delays. 

If the legislative body find that the hostilities commenced 
are a culpable aggression on the part of the ministers, or 
any other agent of executive power, the author of such 
aggression shall be criminally prosecuted. 

The legislative body can require the king to negotiate 
peace at any period of the war, and the king is obliged to 
yield to this requisition. 

As soon as the war terminates, the legislative body shall 
determine the period within which the troops raised above 
the peace establishment are to be dismissed, and the army 
reduced to its ordinary level. 

3. The ratification of treaties of peace, alliance and com- 
merce, belongs to the legislative body, and no treaty shall 
take effect except in pursuance of this ratification. 

4. The legislative body has a right to determine the 
place of its sessions, of continuing them as long as it thinks 
necessary, and of adjourning. At the commencement of 
every reign, if not in session, it shall be obliged to assemble 
without delay. 

It has the right of police in the place of its sessions, and 
to such an extent around, as it thinks proper to determine 
upon. 

It has the right of discipline over its members ; but can 
pronounce no heavier punishment than censure, arrest for 
eight days, or imprisonment for three days. 

For the security of the assembly, and for the mainte- 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 123 

nance of the respect which is its due, it has the right of 
disposing of the forces which, with its consent, are sta- 
tioned in the town where its sessions are held. 

5. The executive power cannot march or halt any body 
of troops of the line within the distance of thirty thousand 
toises (twelve leagues) of the legislative body, unless re- 
quired or empowered by it so to do. 

§ 2. Holding of Sessions and Form of Deliberating. 

Art. 1 . The deliberations of the legislative body shall be 
public, and the minutes of its sittings printed. 

2. The legislative body, however, shall have the power on 
every occasion of resolving itself into a general committee. 
Fifty members shall have the right of demanding it. While 
it lasts, strangers shall retire, the president's chair be va- 
cant, and order maintained by the vice-president. 

3. No legislative act can be deliberated upon and decreed 
except in the form following : 

4. Every project of decree must be read three several 
times, and the interval between each reading cannot be less 
than eight days. 

5. The discussion opens after each reading; neverthe- 
less, after the first or second reading the legislative body 
may decide that there is room for adjournment, or that 
there is no room to deliberate. In the latter case, the pro- 
ject of decree may be brought forward again the same 
session. 

- Every project of decree must be printed and distributed 
before the second reading. 

6. After the third reading, the president shall be bound 
to propose to their deliberation, and the legislative body 
shall decide whether it is in a state to pass a definitive de- 
cree, or would rather choose to postpone the decision, in 
order to collect more information. 

7. The legislative body cannot deliberate unless the meet- 



124 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

ing is composed of at least two hundred members, — and no 
decree can be passed except by an absolute majority of 
suffrages. 

8. Every project of law brought forward for discussion 
which shall be thrown out after the third reading, cannot 
be again presented during the same session. 

9. The preamble of every definitive decree shall express, 
1. The dates of the sittings in which the three readings of 
the bill took place : 2. The decree by which it was resolved, 
after the third reading, to decide definitively. 

10. The king shall refuse his sanction to decrees of which 
the preamble does not attest the observance of the above 
forms : and should any such decree be sanctioned, the mi- 
nisters can neither affix the seal to them, nor promulgate 
them ; and their responsibility on this head shall continue 
six years. 

11. Such decrees as are acknowledged and declared ur- 
gent by a previous resolution of the legislative body, are 
excepted from the above regulations ; but they may be 
modified or repealed in course of the same session. 

The decree by which the subject is declared urgent, shall 
declare the causes of this urgency, and mention shall be 
made of this previous decree in the preamble to the defini- 
tive decree. 

§ 3. On the Royal Sanction. 

Art. 1. The decrees of the legislative body are presented 
to the king, who may refuse his consent to them. 

2. When the king refuses his consent, this refusal is only 
of a suspensive nature. 

Should the two legislatures next following that which 
presented the decree successively re-present the same de- 
cree in the same terms, the king shall be deemed to have 
given his sanction. 

3. The king's assent is expressed on every decree by the 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 125 

formula, under his signature, The king consents, and will 
cause it to be executed. The suspensive refusal is thus ex- 
pressed : The king will examine. 

4. The king is bound to declare his consent or refusal on 
every decree within two months from its presentation. 

5. A decree to which the king refuses his assent, cannot 
be again presented to him by the same legislature. 

6. Decrees sanctioned by the king, as well as those pre- 
sented to him by three successive legislatures, have the 
force of law, and bear the name and title of laws. 

7. The following notwithstanding, shall be carried into 
execution as laws without being subject to the sanction : 
acts of the legislative body relating to its constitution as a 
deliberating assembly ; those which concern its internal 
police, and that which it exercises in the exterior circuit it 
shall have determined upon ; the verification of the powers 
of its members present ; injunctions to absent members ; 
the convocation of primary assemblies delayed ; the exer- 
cise of the constitutional police over administrators and 
municipal officers ; questions as well of eligibility, as of the 
validity of elections. 

Acts relating to the responsibility of ministers, and de- 
crees declaring grounds of prosecution to exist, are also 
exempt from the sanction. 

8. Decrees of the legislative body concerning the esta- 
blishment, promulgation and collection of public contribu- 
tions, bear the name and title of laws. They shall be pro- 
mulgated and carried into execution without being subject 
to the sanction ; such, however, excepted, as contain dispo- 
sitions which would establish other penalties than fines and 
pecuniary constraints. 

These decrees cannot be passed unless with the forma- 
lities prescribed by articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, of section 2 
of the present chapter ; nor can the legislative body insert 
in such decrees any dispositions foreign to their object. 



126 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

§ 4. Relations of the Legislative Body with the King. 

Art. 1. When the legislative body is definitively consti- 
tuted, it sends a deputation to the king to acquaint him 
therewith. The king may every year open the session, and 
propose the subjects which he thinks ought to be taken 
into consideration in the course of it, but this formality is 
not to be considered as necessary to the activity of the le- 
gislative body. 

2. When the legislative body wishes to adjourn for more 
than fifteen days, it is bound to advise the king thereof by 
a deputation, at least eight days before. 

3. At least eight days before the end of every session, 
the legislative body sends the king a deputation, to an- 
nounce the day on which it proposes to terminate its sit- 
tings. The king may close the session in person. 

4. If the king finds it essential to the welfare of the state 
that the session be continued, or the adjournment not take 
place, or that it take place for a less length of time, he 
may send a message to this effect, on which the legislative 
body is bound to deliberate. 

5. The king shall convoke the legislative body in the 
interval of its sessions, whenever the interest of the state 
shall appear to him to require it, as well as in the cases 
which may have been foreseen and resolved upon by the 
legislative body before its adjournment. 

6. Whenever the king comes to the legislative body, he 
shall be received and conducted back by a deputation : he 
cannot be accompanied into the interior of the hall, except 
by the prince royal and the ministers. 

7. In no case, can the president form part of a depu- 
tation. 

8. The legislative body shall cease to be a deliberating 
body while the king is present. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 127 

9. The ac{js of the king's correspondence with the legis- 
lative body shall be always countersigned by a minister. 

10. The king's ministers shall have admission and a 
place assigned them in the national legislative assembly : 
they shall be heard when on subjects relating to their ad- 
ministration they demand a hearing, or when required to 
give information. They shall also be heard on subjects 
foreign to their administration, when the national assem- 
bly grants them permission to speak. 

Chapter IV. — On the Exercise of the Executive Power. 

Art. \ . The supreme executive power resides exclusively 
in the hands of the king. 

The king is supreme chief of the general administration 
of the kingdom : the care of watching over the maintenance 
of order and public tranquillity, is intrusted to him. 

The king is supreme head of the land and naval forces. 

The care of watching over the external safety of the king- 
dom, of maintaining its rights and possessions, is'delegated 
to the king. 

2. The king appoints ambassadors and other agents of 
political negotiations. 

He appoints to the command of fleets and armies, and 
confers the ranks of marshal of France and admiral. 

He has the appointment of two-thirds the rear admirals, 
half the lieutenant-generals, marechaux-de-camp, captains 
of vessels, and colonels of the national gendarmerie. 

He appoints a third of the colonels and lieutenant- 
colonels, and a sixth of the lieutenants of vessels :-— in 
every thing conforming himself to the laws on promotion. 

In the civil administration of the marine, he appoints 
the ordainers, comptrollers, treasurers of the arsenals, the 
chiefs of works, sub-chiefs of civil buildings, half the chiefs 
of administration, and sub-chiefs of construction. 

He appoints the commissioners of the tribunals. 



128 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

He appoints the chief overseers for the management of 
indirect contributions, and for the administration of the 
national domains. 

He has the superintendency of the coinage, and appoints 
the officers charged with exercising this superintendency 
in the general commission, and in the mints. 

The king's effigy is impressed on all the coins of the 
kingdom. 

3. The king grants the letters-patent, brevets, and com^ 
missions to the public functionaries, or others who are to 
receive them. 

4. The king having caused to be drawn up a list of pen- 
sions and rewards, presents it every session to the legis- 
lative body, which on proper grounds, decrees them. 

§ 1 . On the Promulgation of Laws. 

Art. 1. The executive power is charged with affixing 
the seal of state to laws, and promulgating them. 

It is charged in like manner with promulgating and 
carrying into execution such acts of the legislative body as 
do not require the king's sanction. 

2. Of every law two original copies shall be made, both 
signed by the king, countersigned by the minister of jus- 
tice, and sealed with the seal of state. One shall remain 
deposited in the archives of the seal, the other be com- 
mitted to those of the legislative body. 

3. The promulgation of laws shall be conceived in these 
terms : 

" N. (the king's name), by the grace of God, and by the 
" constitutional law of the state, king of the French : to 
" all present, and to come, greeting. The national assem- 
" bly has decreed, and we will and ordain as follows :" 

{A literal copy of the decree is here inserted without any 
variation.) 

" We command and order all administrative bodies and 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 129 

" tribunals, that they cause these presents to be inscribed 
" on their registers, read, published, and posted up in 
" their departments and respective jurisdictions, and exe- 
" cuted as laws of the kingdom : in witness of which we 
" have signed the said presents, and affixed to them the 
" seal of state." 

4. Should the king be a minor, the laws, proclamations, 
and other acts emanating from the royal authority, during 
the regency, shall be conceived in the terms following : 

" N. (the regent's name), regent of the kingdom, in the 
" name of N. (the king's name), by the grace of God, 
" and constitutional law of the state, king of the French, 
fa. #<?." 

5. The executive power is obliged to transmit the laws 
to the administrative bodies and tribunals, and to cause 
this transmission to be certified and proved to the legisla- 
tive body. 

6. The executive power cannot make any law, even 
provisionally, but merely proclamations conformable to 
the laws, for ordering or repealing their execution. 

§2. Of the Interior Administration. 

Art. 1. In every department is a superior administration, 
and in every district a subordinate one. 

2. The administrators have no representative character. 
They are agents elected for a time by the people, for exer- 
cising under the superintendency and authority of the 
king, the administrative functions. 

3. They cannot interfere in the exercise of the legislative 
power, or suspend the execution of the laws : neither can 
they encroach on the judicial order, or on dispositions and 
operations of a military nature. 

4. The administrators are officially charged with the 
assessment of contributions, and with watching over the 
money arising from all contributions and public revenues 

Vol. I. K 



130 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

in their territory. It belongs to the legislative power to 
determine the mode and rules which are to govern their 
conduct, as well on the subjects named above, as on every 
other part of the interior administration. 

5. The king has the right of annulling such acts of 
administrators of departments, as are contrary to the laws, 
or to the orders which he has addressed to them. In the 
case of obstinate disobedience, or if they compromise the 
public safety or tranquillity by their conduct, he can sus- 
pend them from their functions. 

6. In like manner, the administrators of departments 
have a right to annul the acts of the sub-administrators of 
districts which are contrary to the laws or decrees of the 
administrators of departments, or to the orders which the 
latter have given or transmitted to them. They can also, in 
the case of obstinate disobedience on the part of the sub- 
administrators, or if by their acts they compromise the 
public safety or tranquillity, suspend them from their 
functions, — subject to the duty of making the king ac- 
quainted therewith, who shall have the power of removing 
or confirming such suspension. 

7. When the administrators of departments shall not 
have used the power delegated to them in the above arti- 
cle, the king may annul directly the acts of the sub-admini- 
strators, and under the same circumstances, suspend them. 

8. Whenever the king pronounces or confirms the sus- 
pension of administrators or sub-administrators, he shall 
make the legislative body acquainted therewith. 

The legislative body can either remove or ratify the 
suspension, and even dissolve the culpable administration: 
It has the power moreover of referring the administrators, 
or any of them, to the criminal tribunals, and of passing 
a decree of accusation against them. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 131 

§ 3. On Foreign Relations. 

Art. !. The king alone can maintain political relations 
without, conduct negotiations, make preparations of war 
proportioned to those of the neighbouring states, distribute 
the forces of land and sea as he shall think proper, and 
determine their direction in case of war. 

2. Every declaration of war shall be framed in these 
terms : On the part of the king of the French, in the name 
of the nation. 

3. It belongs to the king to conclude and sign with all 
foreign powers, all treaties of peace, alliance and com- 
merce, with such other conventions as he may think neces- 
sary to the welfare of the state ; subject to the ratification 
of the legislative body. 

Chapter V. — The Judicial Power. 

Art. 1. The judicial power cannot in any case be exer- 
cised by the legislative body, or by the king. 

2. Justice shall be rendered gratuitously by judges elected 
for a time by the people, and instituted by letters-patent 
from the king, who shall not have the power of refusing 
them. 

They cannot be deprived of their office unless for an 
offence duly tried ; or suspended, unless upon a received 
accusation. 

The public accuser shall be appointed by the people. 

3. The tribunals cannot interfere in the exercise of the 
legislative power, suspend the execution of the laws, 
encroach on the administrative functions, or cite before 
them the administrators for account of their functions. 

4. Citizens cannot be withdrawn from the judges whom 
the law assigns them by any commission, attribution or 
evocation not sanctioned by the laws. 

K 2 



132 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

5. The right which citizens enjoy of definitively termi- 
nating their disputes by means of reference, cannot be 
obstructed by the acts of the legislative power. 

6. The ordinary tribunals cannot receive any civil action 
unless it be proved that the parties have appeared, or that 
the plaintiff has cited the adverse party before arbitrators 
to reconcile their differences. 

7. There shall be one or more judges of the peace in 
the cantons and towns. Their number shall be fixed by 
the legislative power. 

8. It belongs to the legislative power to regulate the 
number and arrondissements of the tribunals, and the 
number of judges of which each tribunal shall be composed. 

9. In criminal cases, no citizen can be judged except on 
a charge received by jurors, or decreed by the legislative 
body in the cases in which it belongs to that assembly to 
prosecute. After the accusation is admitted, the fact shall 
be examined and declared by the jurors. 

The accused person shall have the privilege of challenging 
twenty, without assigning his motives. 

The jurors who declare the fact shall not be less than 
twelve in number. 

The application of the law shall be made by the judges. 
The trial shall be public, and the assistance of counsel 
cannot be denied the person accused. 

No man acquitted by a lawful jury can be apprehended 
again, or accused for the same offence. 

10. No man can be apprehended except to be conducted 
before the officer of police ; and no one can be put under 
arrest, or detained, except in virtue of an order of the 
officers of police, of a warrant of arrest issued by a tri- 
bunal, of a decree of accusation by the legislative body in 
the cases in which it belongs to it to pronounce such 
decree, or of a sentence of condemnation to prison or cor- 
rectional detention. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 133 

11. Every man apprehended and conducted before an 
officer of police shall be examined immediately, or at the 
latest, within twenty-four hours. Should it appear from 
the examination that no charge can lie against him, he 
shall be immediately set at liberty ; or, if there are just 
grounds for sending him to the house of detention, he 
shall be conducted thither with the least delay possible, a 
delay, that in no case can exceed three days. 

12. In all cases where the law permits a person to 
remain at liberty on bail, no person under arrest can be 
detained if he give sufficient security. 

13. No man whose detention is authorized by law, can 
be conducted to, or detained in places other than such as 
are legally and publicly appointed for serving as houses of 
arrest, houses of justice or prisons. 

14. No keeper or gaoler can receive or detain any man, 
except in virtue of an order, writ of arrest, decree of accu- 
sation, or judgment mentioned in article 10 above, nor un- 
less a copy of such instrument be transcribed on his register. 

15. Every keeper or gaoler is bound, and no order shall 
exempt him from it, to produce the person of the detained 
to the civil officer intrusted with the police of the house 
of detention, as often as shall be required of him. 

The sight of the prisoner cannot, in like manner, be 
refused his relations and friends bearing an order from the 
civil officer, who shall be always obliged to grant such 
order, unless the keeper or gaoler produces an order from 
the magistrate, transcribed on his register, for keeping the 
arrested person secret. 

16. Every man, whatever be his place or employment, 
except those to whom the law assigns the right of arrest, 
who shall give, sign, execute, or cause to be executed, an 
order for arresting a citizen ; or whoever, even in the cases 
of arrest authorized by the law, shall conduct to, receive, 



134 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

or detain a citizen in a place not publicly and legally ap- 
pointed; and, every keeper or gaoler who shall act in 
contravention to the dispositions laid down in articles 14 
and 15 above, shall be deemed guilty of the crime of arbi- 
trary detention. 

17. No man can be exposed to inquiry, or prosecuted on 
account of writings which he shall have printed or pub- 
lished on any subject whatever, unless he has designedly 
provoked disobedience to the law, the degradation of the 
constituted powers, resistance to their acts, or some action 
declared a crime or offence by law. 

It is permitted to censure the acts of the constituted 
powers ; but wilful slanders against the probity of public 
functionaries, and the rectitude of their intentions in the 
discharge of their functions, may be prosecuted by those 
against whom they are levelled. 

Slanders and injuries against any persons whatever, 
relating to actions in private life, are liable to prosecution 
and punishment. 

18. No one can be tried either on a civil or criminal 
prosecution for writings printed or published, unless it be 
acknowledged and declared by a jury ; 1st. That the writing 
denounced contains an offence, and 2d. that the person 
prosecuted is guilty of the said offence. 

19. A single tribunal of cassation for the whole kingdom, 
shall be established near the legislative body. Its func- 
tions shall consist in pronouncing on petitions for quashing 
the judgments given in the last resort by the tribunals. 

On petitions for removing a cause from one tribunal to 
another on lawful cause of suspicion. 

On the regulations of judges, and exceptions to a whole 
tribunal. 

20. In cases of appeal, the tribunal of cassation can 
never take cognizance of affairs from the foundation ; 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 135 

but, after having quashed the judgment rendered on a 
procedure in which the forms have been violated, or which 
contains an express contravention of the law*, it shall 
return the grounds of the action to the tribunal to which 
the cognizance of it belongs. 

21. If after two cassations, the judgment of the third 
tribunal should be attacked by the same means as the two 
first, the question cannot be again discussed in the court 
of cassation, without its being submitted to the legislative 
body, which shall pass a decree declaratory of the law ; 
and to this the tribunal of cassation shall be obliged to 
conform. 

22. Every year, the tribunal of cassation shall send to 
the bar of the legislative body a deputation of eight mem- 
bers, who shall present an account of the judgments given, 
and annexed to each an abstract of the cause, with the 
text of the law which formed the grounds of decision. 

23. A national high court, formed of members of the 
tribunal of cassation and high jurymen, shall take cogni- 
zance of offences committed by the ministers and principal 
agents of the executive power, and of such crimes as 
attacking the general safety of the state, the legislative 
body shall pass a decree of accusation against. 

This court shall assemble only on the proclamation of 
the legislative body, and at a distance of 30,000 toises at 
least from the place where the legislature is in session. 

24. Writs in execution of the judgments of tribunals 
shall be conceived in the terms following : 

" N. (the king's name), by the grace of God and consti- 
" tutional law of the state, king of the French; to all 

u present and to come, greeting : the tribunal of has 

" rendered the judgment following :" 

(Here follows a copy of the judgment, in it being men- 
tioned the names of the judges.) 



136 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

" We command and enjoin all bailiffs on this requi-* 
** sition to put the said judgment into execution ; to our 
'« commissioners Of tribunals to assist therein ; and to all 
" commanders and officers of the public force to enforce 
*' the same, when they are legally required: in witness 
" of which the present judgment is signed by the pre- 
66 sident of the tribunal and by the registrar.'* 

25. The duties of the king's commissioners in the tri- 
bunals consist in requiring observance of the laws when 
judgment is given, and in carrying such judgments when 
given into execution. 

They shall not be public accusers, but shall be heard 
on all accusations, and shall require, during the process, 
regularity in the forms, and before judgment, application 
of the law. 

26. The king's commissioners in the tribunals shall 
denounce to the director of the jury, either ex officio, 
or in pursuance of orders given them by the king, at- 
tempts against the individual liberty of citizens, against 
the free circulation of provisions and other objects of 
commerce, and against the collection of contributions ; 

Also offences by which the execution of orders given 
by the king, in the exercise of the functions delegated to 
him, should be troubled or prevented; 

Outrages against the rights of persons, resistance to the 
execution of judgments, and of all executory acts ema- 
nating frorrj the constituted powers. 

27. The minister of justice shall denounce to the tri- 
bunal of cassation, by means of the king's commissioner, 
and without prejudice to the rights of the parties inte- 
rested, any acts in which the judges may have exceeded 
their powers. 

The tribunal shall annul these acts; and if they give 
grounds for forfeiture, the case shall be denounced to the 



CONSTITUTION OF J791. 137 

legislative body, which shall render a decree of accusation, 
and send the persons arraigned before the national high 
court. 

Title IV.— Of the Public Force. 

Art. 1. The public force is instituted for defending the 
state against enemies from without, and for assuring the 
maintenance of order and the execution of the laws within. 

2. It is composed of the armies of sea and land ; of the 
troops particularly destined to the service of the interior ; 
and subsidiary to these, of the active citizens and their 
children fit to carry arms, who are inscribed on the list of 
the national guards. 

3. The national guards form neither a military body nor 
an institution in the state : they are citizens themselves 
called to the service of the public force. 

4. The citizens can never form themselves, nor act as 
national guards, unless in pursuance of a requisition or 
other legal authority. 

5. In this respect they are placed under an organization 
determined by law. 

Throughout the kingdom, they cannot have more than 
one mode of discipline, or more than one uniform. 

The distinctions of rank and subordination exist only in 
relation to service, and while it lasts. 

6. The officers are elected for a time, and cannot be re- 
elected until after an interval of service as soldiers. 

No person shall command the national guard of more 
than one district. 

7. Every part of the public force employed for the safety 
of the state against external enemies, shall act under the 
king's orders. 

8. No body, or detachment of troops of the line, can 
act in the interior of the kingdom without a legal requi- 
sition. 



138 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

9. No agent of the public force can enter the house of a 
citizen, unless in the execution of the orders of police or 
justice, or in the cases expressly provided for by law. 

10. The requisition of the public force in the interior of 
the kingdom belongs to the civil officers, according to rules 
laid down by the legislative power. 

11. If disturbances agitate a whole department, the 
king, on the responsibility of his ministers, shall give the 
necessary orders for the execution of the laws and restora- 
tion of order ; but on condition of acquainting the legis- 
lative body therewith, if in session, or of calling it to- 
gether, if separated. 

12. The public force is essentially obedient : no armed 
body can deliberate. 

13. The land and naval army and the troops destined to 
the security of the interior, are subject to particular laws, 
as well for the maintenance of discipline, as for the form 
of trials, and the nature of punishment, in the matter of 
military offences. 

Title V.« — Public Contributions. 

Art. 1. The public contributions shall be debated and 
fixed every year by the legislative body : they cannot con- 
tinue beyond the last day of the following session, unless 
expressly renewed. 

2. Under no pretext can the funds necessary to the 
discharge of the national debt and payment of the civil 
list, be either refused or suspended. 

The allowance to the ministers of the catholic wor- 
ship pensioned, retained, elected or appointed in virtue 
of the decrees of the national constituent assembly, forms 
part of the national debt. 

The legislative body cannot, in any case, charge the 
nation with the payment of the debts of any individual. 

3. Detailed accounts of the expense of the ministerial 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 139 

departments, signed and attested by the ministers or comp- 
trollers general, shall be printed and made public at the 
commencement of every legislature. 

The same regulation holds with regard to the statements 
of receipt of the different contributions, and of all the 
public revenues. 

The accounts of these disbursements and receipts shall 
be distinguished according to their nature, and express 
the sums received and expended, year by year, in each 
district. 

The expenses peculiar to each department and relative 
to the tribunals, to the administrative bodies and other 
institutions, shall be in like manner rendered public. 

4. The administrators of departments, and sub-adminis- 
trators, cannot establish any public contribution, or make 
any assessment beyond the time and amount fixed by the 
legislative body; neither can they resolve upon nor per- 
mit, unless authorized by the said body, any local loan 
on account of the citizens of the department. 

5. The executive power directs and superintends the 
collection and paying in of contributions, and gives all 
the necessary orders to that effect. 

Title VI.— On the relations of the French Nation with , 
Foreign Nations. 

The French nation renounces the undertaking any war 
with the view of making conquests, and will never employ 
its forces against the liberty of any people. 

The constitution does not admit the droit d'aubaine. 

Foreigners, settled or not in France succeed to their 
parents, whether foreigners or Frenchmen. They can 
contract, acquire and receive property lying in France, 
and dispose of it, the same as any French citizen, by all 
the means authorized by the laws. 



140 CONSTITUTION OP 1791. 

Foreigners in France are subject to the same criminal 
and police laws as French citizens, saving the conven- 
tions entered into with foreign powers : their persons, 
property, industry, religious worship, are equally protected 
by law. 

Title VII. — On the revision of Constitutional Decrees. 

Art. 1. The national constituent assembly declares that 
the nation has an imprescriptible right to change its con- 
stitution; and nevertheless, considering that it is more 
conformable to the national interest to exercise by those 
means only which are laid down in the constitution itself, 
the right of reforming the articles of which experience 
demonstrates the inconvenience, decrees that such change 
shall be preceded by an assembly of revisal in the form 
following. 

2. When three successive legislatures shall have ma- 
nifested a uniform wish for the change of any constitu- 
tional article, the revisal called for shall be deemed ex- 
pedient. 

3. The approaching legislature and th&one following it, 
shall have no power to propose the reform of any con- 
stitutional article. 

4. Of the three legislatures following the aforesaid two, 
and which are invested with the power of proposing an 
alteration, the two first shall discuss the subject in the 
two last months of their last session only, and the third at 
the end of its first annual session, or at the commencement 
of the second. 

Their deliberations on this business shall be subject to 
the same forms as legislative acts ; but the decrees in which 
they declare their wish for an alteration shall not be 
subject to the king's sanction. 

5. The fourth legislature, augmented by two hundred 



CONSTITUTION OP 1791, 141 

and forty-nine members, elected in each department by 
doubling the ordinary number which it furnishes for its 
population, shall form the assembly of revision. 

These two hundred and forty-nine members shall be 
chosen after the election of representatives to the legis- 
lative body is completed; a distinct proces- verbal being 
drawn up. 

The assembly of revision shall be composed of one 
chamber only. 

6. The members of the third legislature which shall 
have demanded the alteration, shall not be eligible to the 
assembly of revision. 

7. The members of the assembly of revision, after having 
pronounced all together the oath to live free or die, shall 
take individually that of confining themselves to deliberate 
on the subjects submitted to them by the uniform wish of th e 
three preceding legislatures ; of maintaining, moreover, to 
the utmost of their power, the constitution of the kingdom 
decreed by the national constituent assembly in the years 
1789, 1790 and 1791, and of being in all things true to 
the nation, to the law and the king. 

8. The assembly of revision shall then, and without delay, 
enter upon the subjects submitted to its examination : 
at soon as its labours are terminated, the two hundred and 
forty-nine members appointed in augmentation, shall with- 
draw, without being able to take part, in any case, in 
acts appertaining to the legislature. 



The French colonies and possessions in Asia, Africa 
and America, although they form part of the French empire, 
are not included in the present constitution. 



No power instituted by the constitution has the right 
of changing it in the whole or part, saving the reforms 



142 CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 

which may be effected by means of revision, and con- 
formably to the dispositions of Title VII. above. 

The national constituent assembly commits the deposit 
of the constitution to the fidelity of the legislative body, 
of the king and of the judges, to the vigilance of fathers 
of families, to wives and mothers, to the affection of 
young citizens, to the courage of all Frenchmen. 

The decrees passed by the national constituent assembly, 
which are not comprised in the constitutional act, shall 
be executed as laws ; and the laws antecedent thereto 
which it has^ not abrogated, shall be equally held in ob- 
servance, so long as both one and the other continue neither 
repealed nor modified by the legislative power. 

3 September, 1791. 

The national assembly having heard the reading of the 
foregoing constitutional act, and having approved thereof, 
declares that the constitution is finished, and that it can 
change nothing contained in it. 

A deputation of sixty members shall be immediately 
appointed for offering during the day, the constitutional 
act to the king. 

Oath of Louis XVI. before the National Assembly in 
acceptance of the Constitution. 

Gentlemen, 

I come here to confirm in a solemn manner my accept- 
ance of the constitutional act. In consequence, I swear 
to be true to the nation and the law,— to employ all the 
power delegated to me in maintaining the constitution de- 
creed by the national constituent assembly, and in assuring 
the execution of the laws. May this great and memorable 
epoch be that of the re-establishment of peace and una- 
nimity, and may it become the pledge of the happiness of 
the people, and prosperity of the empire. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1791. 143 

Proclamation of the Constitution. — \^th Sept. 1791. 

Citizens, 

The national constituent assembly in the years 1789, 
1790, 1791, having the 17th June 1791 commenced the 
work of the constitution, happily terminated it the 3d Sept. 
1791. 

The constitutional act was solemnly accepted and signed 
by the king the 14th of the same month. 

The national constituent assembly commits the deposit 
thereof to the fidelity of the legislative body, of the king, 
and of the judges, to the vigilance of fathers of families, 
to wives and mothers, to the affection of young citizens, 
to the courage of all Frenchmen. 



144 



ABOLITION OF ROYALTY AND OVERTHROW OF 
THE CONSTITUTION. 



After the 3rd September, 1791, the day on which the 
national assembly declared the constitution finished, it still 
held several sittings, and passed some laws. Among these, 
the most important was that of the 29th of September, on 
the organization of the national guard. 

On the 30th September, the assembly declared its 
mission finished, and immediately broke up. 

In the mean time, the primary and electoral assemblies, 
convened throughout Franje, had appointed the members 
of the legislative assembly ; and this body held its first 
sitting on the 1st October, 1791. On the 4th the king 
presented himself, and took the oath required by the con- 
stitution # . 

It was not long before a misunderstanding broke out 
between the court and the representatives. Two decrees, 
one against emigrants, and the other against refractory 
priests, were presented to the king for his sanction, and 
rejected. In this he did nothing more than exercise the 
authority which the constitution assigned to himt? though 
such an essay only served to prove to how low a degree that 
authority was now reduced. 

Three parties divided the assembly ; the constitutionalists, 
the Girondists, and the Jacobins. The first only had any 
intention of preserving the monarchical constitution. The 
others agreed to overthrow it ; but as it afterwards ap- 
peared, with ultimate views of a very different nature. 

The republicans every day attacked the men, and 

* Chap. 2, sect. 1, art. 4. f Chap. 8, sect. 3. art. 1. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 145 

assailed the institutions which formed an obstacle to their 
designs. On the 30th of May, 1792, they pronounced the 
dissolution of the king's constitutional guard. And finally, 
on the 20th of June, broke out an insurrection, which, whe- 
ther ordered by the faction themselves, or excited by their 
inflammatory actions and language, overthrew, it may be 
said, both the throne and the constitution. The national 
representation itself received a fatal blow: a procession 
of armed men were seen defile through the midst of the 
assembly, the same which afterwrds appeared to de- 
mand the heads of the deputies, then objects of popular 
favour. 

The 10th of August completed what the 20th of June had 
commenced, and two decrees, one suspending the king from 
his functions, and the other ordering the convocation of a 
national convention, put a period to the constitution. 

The following day another decree invited all the citizens 
to meet in primary assemblies for appointing the members 
of the convention and for investing their representatives with 
unlimited confidence. Every Frenchman who had attained 
twenty-one years of age, not in the condition of a servant 
at wages, was called upon to vote ; and every Frenchman 
aged twenty-five years was declared eligible. The executive 
power was committed to the ministers. 

Of the massacres of the 2nd and 3rd of September we shall 
only observe, that from that time the power of the Jacobins 
was supreme. The courage and capacity of the Girondists 
could no longer make head against their boldness and 
popularity. 

The convention met the 21st of September, 179 1 , and with 
one voice decreed the abolition of royalty. A new decree 
dated the 25th, proclaimed the French Republic. The trial 
of Louis XVI. commenced in the month of January, 1793; 
the courage of a few deputies was insufficient to defend him 

Vol. I. L 



146 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

against the fury of the Jacobins, seconded as they were by 
the pusillanimity of the rest of the convention. 

After the king's death the Mountain continued to over- 
awe the convention and to lay waste France. The famous 
committee of public safety, conductor of anarchy and revo- 
lutionary excess, was formed on the 6th of April. On the 
31st of May, the convention sacrificed several of its members 
to the fury of the Jacobins. A great number of deputies, 
Girondists and Federalists, were proscribed, and most of 
them dragged to the scaffold. France was covered with 
revolutionary committees: each department had its pro- 
consul, who was called the representative of the people. It 
was in the midst of all this, however, that the new consti- 
tution for the government of the French republic was framed. 
On the 24th of June it was presented to the acceptance of 
the people. 



CONSTITUTIONAL ACT 

PRESENTED TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE BY THE NATIONAL CONVENTION, 

24th June, 1793. 



Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. 
The French people, convinced that the neglect and con- 
tempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of the mis- 
fortunes of the world, have resolved to expose in a solemn 
declaration those sacred and inalienable rights ; to the end 
that all citizens, being always able to compare the acts of 
government with the end of every social institution, may 
never suffer themselves to be oppressed and degraded by 
tyranny ; and that the people may have always before their 
eyes the basis of their liberty and happiness; the magis- 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 147 

trate, the rule of his duties ; the legislator, the object of 
his mission. 

They consequently proclaim in presence of the Supreme 
Being the following declaration of the rights of man and 
the citizen : — 

Art. 1. The end of society is the common happiness. 
Government is instituted for securing to man the enjoyment 
of his natural and imprescriptible rights. 

2. These rights are, equality, liberty, security, property. 

3. All men are equal by nature, and in the eye of 
the law. 

4. The law is the free and solemn expression of the 
general will : it is the same for all, whether it protects or 
punishes : it can only ordain what is just and useful to 
society : it can only prohibit what is injurious thereto. 

5. All. citizens are equally admissible to public employ- 
ments. Free nations know no other motives of preference 
in their elections, than virtue and talent. 

6. Liberty is the power belonging to man, of doing every fy 
thing which does no injury to the rights of another : it has \ 
nature for its principle ; justice for its rule ; the law for 

its protection. Its moral limits are laid down in this 
maxim ; Do not to another what thou wouldst not that he 
should do unto thee. 

7. The right of declaring our thoughts and opinions, 
whether by means of the press, or in any other manner ; the 
right of assembling peaceably, the free exercise of religion, 
cannot be prohibited. 

The necessity of making a declaration of rights supposes 
either the presence, or remembrance of recent despotism. 

8. Security consists in the protection afforded by society 
to each of its members for the preservation of his person, 
rights, and property. 

9. The law ought to protect public and individual liberty 
against the oppression of those who govern. 

L2 



148 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

10. No one ought to be accused, arrested or detained 
except in the cases determined by law, and according to the 
forms which it prescribes. Every citizen summoned or 
apprehended by authority of the law ought to obey in- 
stantly; he renders himself culpable by resistance. 

11. Every act exercised against a man out of the cases, 
and without the forms which the law determines, is arbi- 
trary and tyrannical : the person against whom such an 
act is attempted has a right to repel force by force. 

12. Those who solicit, expedite, sign, execute or cause to 
be executed any arbitrary acts, are culpable and ought to be 
punished. 

13. Every man being presumed innocent until he has been 
declared guilty, if it be judged indispensable to arrest him, 
every species of severity beyond what is necessary for the 
security of his person, ought to be severely checked by law. 

14. No one ought to be judged and punished until he has 
been heard or legally summoned, or otherwise than in virtue 
of a law promulgated before the commission of the offence. 
The law which punishes offences committed before its ex- 
istence, is tyrannical. The retroactive effect given to the 
law is a crime. 

>/ 15. The law ought to decree such penalties only as are 
/ strictly and evidently necessary, proportionable to the 
\ offence and beneficial to society. 

16. The right of property is the right belonging to every 
citizen of enjoying and disposing of at his pleasure, his 
goods, revenues, the fruit of his labours and industry. 

17. Citizens cannot be prohibited from exercising their 
industry on any kind of labour, cultivation or com- 
merce. 

18. Every man may engage his services and his time, 
( but he can neither sell himself, nor be sold. His person is 
/ not an alienable property. The law does not acknowledge a 
) state of service. That species of engagement only can 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 149 

exist which is productive of reciprocal care and gratitude 
between the person who labours and his employer. 

19. No one can be deprived of the least portion of his 
property without his consent, except when the public ne- 
cessity, legally verified, requires it, and on condition of a 
just and previous indemnity. 

20. No contribution can be established except for the 
general good. All citizens have a right to concur in the 
establishment of contributions, to watch over, and demand 
an account of their application. 

21. Public succours are a sacred obligation. Society 
owes subsistence to unfortunate citizens, either by procuring 
them labour, or by making provision for such as are unable 
to labour. 

22. Instruction is needful to all. Society should pro- 
mote to the utmost of its power the progress of public 
reason, and place instruction within the reach of all the 
citizens. 

23. The social guarantee consists in the action of all for 
the purpose of securing to each, the enjoyment and preser- 
vation of his rights : this guarantee rests on the national 
sovereignty. 

24. It cannot exist unless the limits of the public func- 
tions are clearly determined by law, and the responsibility 
of all the functionaries assured. 

25. The sovereignty resides in the people : it is one and 
indivisible, imprescriptible and inalienable. 

. 26. No portion of the people can exercise the power of 
the people entire : but each section of the sovereign assem- 
bled ought to enjoy with perfect freedom the right of ex- 
pressing its will. 

27. Let every individual who usurps the sovereignty be 
instantly put to death by the freemen. 

28. A nation has always the right of revising, reform- / 



150 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

ing and changing its constitution. One generation cannot 
subject generations to come. 

29. All citizens have an equal right to concur in the for- 
mation of the law, and in the appointment of their agents 
and delegates. 

30. Public functions are essentially temporary : they can- 
not be considered as distinctions or rewards, but as duties. 

31. The offences of the delegates and agents of the 
people should never go unpunished. No one has a right to 
pretend himself more inviolable than other citizens. 

32. The right of presenting petitions to persons invested 
with public authority cannot in any case be interdicted, 
suspended or limited. 

33. Resistance to oppression is a consequence of the other 
rights of man. 

34. There is oppression against the social body when a 
single one of its members is oppressed : there is op- 
pression against every member when the social body is 
oppressed. 

35. When the government violates the rights of the 
people, insurrection is for the people, and for every portion 
of the people, the most sacred and the most indispensable 
of duties. 



CONSTITUTIONAL ACT. 

The Republic. 
Art. 1 . The French republic is one and indivisible. 

Distribution of the People. 

2. The French people, for the exercise of their sove- 
reignty, are divided into primary assemblies of canton. 

3. For administration and justice, into departments, 
districts and municipalities. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 151 

State of Citizens. 

4. Every man born and domiciliated in France, who has 
attained the full age of twenty-one years ; every foreigner 
of the same age who, domiciliated in France for a year past, 
lives there on his labour, has acquired a property, or mar- 
ried a French woman, or adopted an infant, or supported an 
old man ; every foreigner in fine who shall be deemed by 
the legislative body to have deserved well of humanity, is 
admitted to the exercise of the rights of a French citizen. 

5. The exercise of the rights of a citizen is lost by natu- 
ralization in a foreign country, by accepting functions or 
favours emanating from a non-popular government, by con- 
demnation to corporal or disgraceful punishments, till again 
reinstated. 

6. The exercise of the rights of a citizen is suspended by 
being in a state of accusation, or by a sentence of contu- 
macy, so long as such sentence remains in force. 

Sovereignty of the People. 

7. The sovereign people are the universality of French 
citizens. 

8. They appoint their deputies directly. 

9. They delegate to electors the choice of administrators, 
public arbitrators, criminal judges, and those of cassation. 

10. They deliberate on the laws. 

Primary Assemblies. 

1 1. The primary assemblies are composed of citizens do- 
miciliated for six months past in each canton. 

12. They are composed of a number of citizens, which 
cannot be less than 200, nor more than 600 called to 
vote. 

13. They are constituted by the appointment of a presi- 
dent, secretaries, and scrutators. 



152 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

14. Their police belongs to them. 

15. No one can appear in arms at a primary as- 
sembly. 

16. The elections are carried on by scrutiny, or viva voce* 
at the option of each voter. 

17. A primary assembly cannot, in any case, prescribe a 
uniform mode of voting. 

18. The scrutators verify the votes of those citizens who, 
not knowing how to write, prefer voting by scrutiny. 

19. Votes on laws are expressed by yes or no. 

20. The resolutions of the primary assemblies are thus 
expressed ; the citizens, met together in the primary assem- 
bly of to the number of voters, vote for or vote 

against, by a majority of 

The National Representation. 

21. Population is the sole basis of the national represen- 
tation. 

22. There is one deputy for every 40,000 individuals. 

23. Every union of primary assemblies resulting from a 
population of 39,000 to 41,000 souls, has the immediate 
appointment of a deputy. 

24. This appointment is carried by the absolute majority 
of suffrages. 

25. Each assembly makes a return of its suffrages, and 
sends a commissioner for the general re-verification to the 
place designated as the most central. 

26. If the first re-verification should not give an absolute 
majority, recourse is had to a second election , which is decided 
beween the two citizens who have the greatest number of 

votes. 

27. In case of an equality of votes, the senior in age has 
the preference, whether by ballot or election. In case of 
equality of age, it is decided by lot. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 153 

28. Every Frenchman exercising the rights of a citizen is 
eligible throughout the republic. 

29. Every deputy belongs to the nation entire. 

30. In case of the non-acceptance, resignation, exclusion 
or death of a deputy, his place is filled up by the primary 
assemblies who appointed him. 

31. A deputy who has given in his resignation, cannot 
quit his post until after the admission of his successor. 

32. The French people meet on the first of May, in every 
year, for making their elections. 

33. They proceed to business, whatever may be the num- 
ber of citizens having a right to vote there present. 

34. The primary assemblies are formed extraordinarily on 
the demand of one-fifth of the citizens who have a right to 
vote in them. 

35. In this case the convocation is made by the munici- 
pality of the place where they ordinarily assemble. 

36. These extraordinary assemblies do not deliberate, ex- 
cept a moiety, plus one, of the citizens who have a right to 
vote, are present. 

Electoral Assemblies, 

37. The citizens, met in primary assemblies, appoint one 
elector for 200 citizens present or not : two for 301 to 400 : 
three for 501 to 600. 

38. Electoral assemblies are held in the same manner, 
and with the same forms as primary assemblies. 

The Legislative Body. 

39. The legislative body is one, indivisible and permanent. 

40. Its session is of one year's duration. 

41. It meets the first of July. 

42. The national assembly cannot constitute itself as 
such, unless it be composed of at least a moiety of its mem- 
bers, plus one, 



154 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

43. The deputies cannot, at any time, be called to an ac- 
count, accused or judged, for opinions which they have ex- 
pressed in the legislative body. 

44. They are liable, for a criminal act, to be seized in the 
fact ; but neither the warrant of arrest, nor warrant to 
bring them before the tribunals, can be issued against them, 
except by authority of the legislative body. 

The Legislative Body in Session. 

45. The sittings of the national assembly are public. 

46. The minutes (proces verbaux) of its sittings are 
printed. 

47. It cannot deliberate unless at least 200 members are 
present. 

48. It cannot refuse its members permission to speak, in 
the order in which they are called upon. 

49. Its resolutions are carried by a majority of members 
present. 

50. Fifty members have a right to demand the nominal 
appeal. 

51. It has the right of censure over the conduct of its 
members. 

52. The right of police in the place of its sessions, and in 
the exterior circuit, which it has determined upon, belongs 
to it. 

Functions of the Legislative Body, 

53. The legislative body proposes laws and passes decrees. 

54. Under the general name of laws are comprised all acts 
f the legislative body concerning : — 

Civil and criminal legislation ; the general administra- 
tion of the revenues and ordinary expenses of the republic ; 
the national domains ; the standard, weight, impression 
and denomination of coins ; the nature, amount and collec- 
tion of contributions ; the declaration of war ; every new 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 155 

and general division of the French territory ; public instruc- 
tion, and public honours paid to the memory of great men. 

55. Under the particular name of decrees are compre- 
hended the acts of the legislative body, concerning : 

The annual establishment of the forces of land and sea ; 
the granting or prohibiting the passage of foreign troops 
through the French territory ; the introduction of foreign 
naval forces into the ports of the republic ; measures of 
security and general tranquillity ; the annual and accidental 
distribution of public aids and works ; orders for the fabri- 
cation of monies of every kind ; unforeseen and extraordinary 
expenses ; local measures, and such as are peculiar to an 
administration, to a commune, to a description of public 
works ; the defence of the territory ; the ratification of 
treaties ; the appointment and dismission of the com- 
manders in chief of armies ; the prosecution, on their re- 
sponsibility, of the members of the council and public func- 
tionaries ; the accusation of those charged with plots against 
the general safety of the republic ; every change in the 
partial division of the French territory ; national rewards. 

Framing Laws. 

56. Projects of law are preceded by a report. 

51. The discussion cannot be opened, and the law be 
provisionally decreed, within less than a fortnight after the 
report. 

58. The project is printed and sent to all the communes 
of the republic under this title : Law proposed. 

59. In forty days after the transmission of the proposed 
law, if in a moiety of the departments plus one, a tenth of 
the primary assemblies of each department, regularly 
formed, shall not have protested, the project is accepted 
and becomes law. 

60. In the event of a protest, the legislative body con- 
vokes the primary assemblies. 



f\i 



156 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

Title of Laws and Decrees. 

61. Laws, decrees, judgments and all public acts are en- 
titled : In the name of the French people, year of the 

French republic. 

The Executive Council. 

62. There is an executive council composed of twenty-four 
members. 

63. The electoral assembly of each department appoints 
a candidate ; and the legislative body, from the general list, 
chooses the members of the council. 

64. Half the members of the council are renewed at each 
legislature in the last month of its session. 

65. The council is charged with the direction and inspec- 
tion of the general administration : it can act only in exe- 
cution of the laws and decrees of the legislative body. 

66. It appoints (the members themselves of the council 
being ineligible) the agents in chief of the general adminis- 
tration of the republic. 

67. The number and functions of such agents are deter- 
mined by the legislative body. 

68. These agents do not form a council : they are separate, 
have no immediate connexion with each other, and do not 
exercise any personal authority. 

69. The council appoints (its own members being ineli- 
gible) the exterior agents of the republic. 

70. It negotiates treaties. 

71. The members of the council, in case of prevarication, 
are accused by the legislative body. 

72. The council is responsible for the non-execution of 
laws and decrees, and for the abuses which it does not 
denounce. 

73. It dismisses and replaces the agents in its nomination. 

74. It is obliged to denounce them, if there be occasion 
for it, before the judicial authorities. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 157 

Relations of the Executive Council with the Legislative Body. 

15. The executive council resides near the legislative 
body : it has admission and a separate seat in the place of 
sessions of the legislative body. 

76. It is heard whenever it has an account to render. 

77. The legislative body calls the council into its presence, 
either in the whole or in part, and whenever it thinks fit. 

Administrative and Municipal Bodies. 

78. A municipal administration is established in each 
commune. 

An intermediary administration in each district. 
A central administration in each department. 

79. The municipal officers are elected by the assemblies 
of communes. 

80. The administrators are appointed by the electoral 
assemblies of departments and districts. 

81. The municipalities and administrations are half 
renewed every year. 

82. The administrators and municipal officers have no 
representative character. They cannot in any case modify 
the acts of the legislative body or suspend their execution. 

83. The legislative body determines the functions of the 
municipal officers and administrators, the rules of subordi- 
nation to which they are subject, and the penalties they are 
liable to incur. 

84. The sittings of the municipalities and administrations 
are public. 

Civil Justice. 

85. The code of civil and criminal laws is the same 
throughout the republic. 

86. No obstruction can be put to the right which the 
citizens enjoy, of deciding their differences by arbitrators 
of their own choice. 



158 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

87. The decision of these arbiters is final, unless the 
parties have reserved the right of appealing therefrom. 

88. There are judges of the peace elected by the citizens 
of the arrondissements determined by law. 

89. They reconcile and judge without any charge. 

90. Their number and competence are regulated by the 
legislative body. 

91. There are public arbiters chosen by the electoral 
assemblies. 

92. Their number and arrondissements are fixed by the 
legislative body. 

93. They take cognizance of such disputes as have not 
been finally settled by private arbiters, or by justices of the 
peace. 

94. They deliberate in public. They give their opinions 
aloud. They decide without appeal on verbal defences 
or simple memorial without process and without expense. 
They state the grounds of their decisions. 

95. The justices of the peace and public arbitrators are 
elected every year. 

Criminal Justice. 

96. In criminal matters no citizen can be judged except 
on a charge received by the juries, or decreed by the legis- 
lative body. The accused have counsel chosen by them, 
or appointed officially. The conduct of the process is 
public. The fact and intention are declared by a jury of 
judgment. The punishment is applied by a criminal 
tribunal. 

97. The judges of criminal causes are chosen every year 
by the electoral assemblies. 

Tribunal of Cassation. 

98. A tribunal of cassation is established for the whole 
republic. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 159 

99. This tribunal does not take cognizance of affairs 
from the origin. It pronounces on the violation of forms, 
and on express contraventions to the law. 

100. The members of this tribunal are appointed every 
year by the electoral assemblies. 

Public Contributions. 

101. No citizen is exempted from the honourable obli- 
gation of contributing to the public burdens. 

National Treasury. 

102. The national treasury is the central point of the 
receipts and disbursements of the republic. 

103. It is administered by accountable agents appointed 
by the executive council. 

104. These agents are under the superintendency of 
commissioners appointed by the legislative body, who are 
responsible for the abuses which they do not denounce. 
The legislative body cannot choose them from among its 
own members. 

Of the Accountability. 

105. The accounts of the agents of the national treasury 
and of the administrators of the public money, are given in 
annually to responsible commissioners appointed by the 
executive council. 

106. These examiners are under the superintendency of 
commissioners appointed by the legislative body, being 
others than members of that body, and responsible for the 
abuses which they do not denounce. 

The legislative body passes the accounts. 

The Forces of the Republic. 

- 107. The general force of the republic is composed of 
the entire people. 



160 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

108. The republic keeps in pay, even in time of peace, 
an armed force of land and sea. 

109. All Frenchmen are soldiers : they are all exercised 
in the use of arms. 

110. There is no generalissimo. 

111. The difference of ranks, their distinctive marks and 
subordination only subsist relative to service, and while it 
lasts. 

112. The public force, employed to maintain order and 
peace in the interior, cannot act except on a requisition in 
writing from the constituted authorities. 

113. The public force employed against foreign enemies 
acts under the orders of the executive council. 

114. No armed body can deliberate. 

National Conventions. 

115. If, in a moiety of the departments, plus one, a tenth 
of the primary assemblies of each of them, regularly formed, 
demand the revision of the constitutional act or the alter- 
ation of any of its articles, the legislative body is obliged to 
convoke all the primary assemblies of the republic, to 
ascertain whether there is occasion for a national con- 
vention. 

116. The national convention is formed in the same 
manner as the legislatures, and unites their powers. 

117. It treats only in relation to the constitution, on 
the subjects which have given rise to its convocation. 

Relations of the French Republic with Foreign Nations. 

118. The French people are the friends and natural 
allies of free nations. 

119. They do not interfere in the government of other 
nations : they will not suffer other nations to interfere 
in their's. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 161 

120. They afford an asylum to foreigners banished their 
country on account of liberty. They refuse it to tyrants. 

121. They make no peace with an enemy who occupies 
their territory. 

Guarantee of Rights. 

122. The constitution guarantees to all Frenchmen 
equality, liberty, security, property, the public debt, the 
free exercise of religion, general instruction, public suc- 
cours, the unrestricted liberty of the press, the right of 
petition, the right of meeting in popular assemblies, the 
enjoyment of all the rights of man. 

123. The French republic honours fidelity, courage, old 
age, filial piety, misfortune. It remits the deposit of its 
constitution under the safeguard of all the virtues. 

124. The declaration of rights and the constitutional act 
are engraven on tables placed in the middle of the legis- 
lative body, and in the public places. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF 1793 ABOLISHED. 
ESTABLISHMENT OF THAT OF 1795. 

There is no necessity for examining the constitution of 
1793. It is agreed upon all hands that it was incapable 
of being put in execution ; and every thing justifies the 
belief that the faction which imposed it on the convention 
and on France, never intended to make use of it. At any 
rate the chiefs of the Mountain proceeded to organize the 
revolutionary government. 

All the authority of the state was conferred on the com- 
mittee of public safety by the decree of the 19th vende- 
miaire, year II, (10 October, 1793,) which declared the 
provisional government of France revolutionary till the 

Vol. I. M 



162 CONSTITUTION OF 1793. 

peace. These measures were confirmed by a new decree 
of the 14 frimaire, year II, (4 December, 1793.) Finally, 
on the 22 prairial, year II, (10 June, 1794,) a law was 
passed, which assigned to the revolutionary tribunal the 
care of punishing the enemies of the people. These 
were so designated, that there was not a man in France 
who could flatter himself with the hope of impunity. By 
the terms of Art. 7 of the law, this tribunal pronounced 
but one punishment — death. Then it was too that the 
worship of philanthropy was established, the goddess 
Reason placed on the altars, and Robespierre seen cele- 
brating the festival of the Supreme Being. 

While this government lasted, France was covered with 
scaffolds. Nantes, Arras, Bourdeaux, Lyons, in particular, 
were deluged with blood. The queen Marie-Antoinette had 
perished since the 16th October, 1793. Yet the horror 
excited by such a series of crimes would not perhaps have 
been sufficient to bring on the authors their merited pu- 
nishment, had not disunion broken out among the mem- 
bers of the committees of public safety and general security, 
and at length afforded France the means of delivering 
herself from her tyrants. 

A speech delivered by Robespierre the 8th thermidor, 
year II, in which he divulged the dissensions of the com- 
mittees, and announced new proscriptions, was the signal 
for a general rising against him. He was resolutely at- 
tacked the following day by Tallien and Collot d'Herbois ; 
he was put out of the protection of the law with several of 
his accomplices, and on the 10th executed. 

The Reign of Terror still continued some time ; but this 
did not prevent the project of a new constitution, which 
was finally terminated the 5th Fructidor, year III, (22 
August, 1795). 



163 



CONSTITUTION OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. 

proposed to the french people by the national 

convention. 5 fructidor, year iii, 

(22 august, 1795.) 



Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the Citizen, 

The French people proclaim, in presence of the Supreme 
Being, the following declaration of the rights and duties of 
man and the citizen. 

Rights. 

Art. 1. The rights of man in society are liberty, equality, 
security, property. 

2. Liberty consists in the power to do that which does no 
injury to the rights of another. 

3. Equality consists in the law being the same for all, 
whether it protects or punishes. Equality admits no dis- 
tinction of birth, no hereditary succession of powers. 

4. Security results from the concurrence of all in securing 
the rights of each. 

5. Property is the right of a man to enjoy and dispose of 
his goods, revenues, the fruit of his labour and industry. 

6. Law is the general will expressed by the majority of 
the citizens, or of their representatives. 

7. What is not forbidden by the law cannot be prevented. 
No one can be constrained to do what it does not ordain. 

8. No one can be brought to justice, accused, arrested or 
detained, except in the cases determined by law, and ac- 
cording to the forms which it has prescribed. 

9. Those who solicit, expedite, sign, execute, or cause 
to be executed, arbitrary acts, are culpable and ought to 
be punished. 

10. Every degree of rigour beyond what is necessary for 

M2 



164 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

securing the person of an accused, ought to be severely- 
checked by law. 

11. No one can be judged before he has been heard, or 
legally summoned. 

12. The law ought to decree such penalties only as are 
strictly necessary and proportioned to the offence. 

13. Whatever treatment aggravates the penalty deter- 
mined by law, is a crime. 

14. No law, whether civil or criminal, can have a 
retroactive effect. 

15. Every man is at liberty to engage his time and ser- 
vices ; but he cannot sell himself or be sold. His person 
is not an alienable property. 

16. Every contribution is established for the general 
good. It ought to be assessed upon the contributors in 
proportion to their means. 

17. The sovereignty resides essentially in the universality 
of the citizens. 

18. No individual, no partial union of citizens, can arro- 
gate to themselves the sovereignty. 

19. No one without a legal commission, can exercise 
any authority or fill any public function. 

20. Every citizen has an equal right to concur, directly 
or indirectly, in framing laws, in appointing the represen- 
tatives @f the people, and public functionaries. 

21. Public functions cannot become the property of 
those who exercise them. 

22. The social guarantee cannot exist if the division of 
powers be not established, their limits determined, and the 
responsibility of public functionaries assured. 

Duties. 

Art. 1. The declaration of rights contains the obliga- 
tions of legislators : the maintenance of society requires 
that those who compose it should know and fulfil their 
duties, 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 165 

2. All the duties of man and of a citizen are derived 
from these two principles engraved by nature on the hearts 
of all : " Do not to another what thou wouldst not that he 
should do unto thee" — " Do constantly to others the good 
which you would wish to receive from them." 

3. The obligations of each towards society, consist in 
defending it, serving it, in living obedient to the laws, and 
in respecting those who are the organs of them. 

4. No man is a good citizen, who is not a good son, a 
good father, a good brother, a good friend, a good husband. 

5. No one is a man of worth, if he be not frankly and 
religiously an observer of the laws. 

6. The man who openly violates the laws, declares him- 
self in a state of war with society. 

7. He who, without openly infringing on the laws, eludes 
them by stratagem or address, wounds the interests of all : 
he renders himself unworthy of their benevolence and 
esteem. 

8. On the maintenance of property depend the cultiva- 
tion of the earth, all its productions, every means of labour 
and the whole social order. 

9. Every citizen owes his services to his country, and to 
the maintenance of liberty, equality and property, when- 
ever the law calls upon him to defend them. 



CONSTITUTION. 

Art. 1 . The French republic is one and indivisible. 

2. The universality of French citizens is the sovereign. 

Title First. — Division of Territory. 

3. France is divided into departments. 

These departments are : l'Ain, l'Aisne, TAllier, les Basses- 
Alpes, les Hautes-Alpes, les Alpes-Maritimes, l'Ardeche, 



166 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

les Ardennes, l'Arriege, l'Aube, l'Aude, l'Aveyron, les 
Bouches-du-Rhone, le Calvados, Ie Cantal, la Charente, la 
Charente-Inferieure, le Cher, la Correze, la Cote-d'Or, les 
C6tes-du-Nord, la Creuse, la Dordogne, le Doubs, la 
Drome, l'Eure, Eure-et-Loir, le Finistere, le Gard, la 
Haute-Garonne, le Gers, la Gironde, le Golo, l'Herault, 
Ille-et-Vilaine, l'lndre, l'lndre-et-Loire, 1'Isere, le Jura, 
les Landes, le Liamone, Loir-et-Cher, la Loire, la Haute- 
Loire, la Loire-Inferieure, le Loiret, le Lot, Lot-et- Garonne, 
la Lozere, Maine-et-Loire, la Manche, la Marne, le Haute- 
Marne, la Mayenne, la Meurthe, la Meuse, le Mont Blanc, 
le Mont-Terrible, le Morbihan, la Moselle, la Nievre, le 
Nord, l'Oise, l'Orne, le Pas-de-Calais, le Puy-de-D6me, les 
Basses-Pyrenees, les Hautes-Pyrenees, les Pyrenees Orien- 
tales, le Bas-Rhin, le Haut-Rhin, le Rhone, le Haute- 
Saone, Saone-et-Loire, la Sarthe, la Seine, la Seine-Inferi- 
eure, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, les Deux-Sevres, la 
Somme', le Tarn, le Var, Vaucluse, la Vendee, la Vienne, 
la Haute-Vienne, les Vosges, l'Yonne. 

4. The limits of departments may be changed or rectified 
by the legislative body ; but in this case, the surface of a 
department cannot exceed one hundred square myriametres 
(400 square leagues, of 2566 toises each.) 

5. Each department is divided into cantons, each canton 
into communes. 

The cantons preserve their present limits. 

Their limits may nevertheless be changed or rectified by 
the legislative body ; but in this case there cannot be more 
than one myriametre (two mean leagues of 2566 toises 
each) from the most distant commune to the chief place of 
the canton. 

6. The French colonies are integral parts of the repub- 
lic, and are subject to the same constitutional law. 

7. They are divided into departments as follows : 

The island of St. Domingo, of which the legislative body 



CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 167 

shall determine the division into four departments at least, 
or six at most ; 

Guadaloupe, Maria-Galande, la Desirade, the Saints and 
the French part of St. Martin, Martinique, French Guiana 
and Cayenne, Saint Lucia and Tobago, the isle of France, 
les Seychelles, Rodrigue and the settlements on Madagas- 
car, the isle of Reunion. The East Indies, Pondicherry, 
Chandernagor, Mahe, Karical, and other settlements. 

Title II. — Political State of Citizens. 

8. Every man born and resident in France, who, full 
twenty-one years of age, has enrolled himself on the civic 
register of his canton, who has lived afterwards one year 
on the territory of the republic, and pays a direct contribu- 
tion, whether real or personal, is a French citizen. 

9. Those Frenchmen who have served one or more cam- 
paigns for the establishment of the republic are citizens 
without any condition as to contribution. 

10. A foreigner becomes a French citizen, when, after 
having attained the full age of twenty-one years, and de- 
clared his intention of settling in France, he has resided 
there during seven successive years, provided moreover he 
pays a direct contribution and possesses a real property, or 
an agricultural or commercial establishment, or has mar- 
ried a French woman. 

11. French citizens alone can vote in the primary assem- 
blies, and be called to the functions established by the con- 
stitution. 

12. A citizen loses the exercise of his rights: 1. By 
naturalization in a foreign country ; 2. By affiliation to 
any foreign corporation which supposes distinctions of 
birth, or requires religious vows; 3. By the acceptance 
of functions or pensions offered by a foreign government ; 
4. By condemnation to corporal or infamous punishment, 
until recapacitation. 



Ib8 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

13 A citizen is suspended from the exercise of his rights : 
■ — 1. By a judicial prohibition on account of insanity, idiot- 
ism, or imbecility ; 2. By a state of bankruptcy, or being 
an immediate heir and detaining gratuitously, the whole or 
part of the succession of a bankrupt ; 3. By being in the 
condition of a domestic at wages, attending on the person, 
or serving in the house ; 4. By being under accusation ; 
5. By a sentence of contumacy, so long as such sentence 
remains in force. 

14. The exercise of the rights of a citizen is neither lost 
nor suspended, except in the cases laid down in the two 
preceding articles. 

15. Every citizen who shall have resided seven succes- 
sive years out of the territory of the republic, not having a 
commission or authority granted in the name of the nation, 
is reputed a foreigner : he cannot again become a French 
citizen until he has conformed to the conditions prescribed 
by Art. 10. 

16. Young persons cannot be enrolled on the civic regis- 
ter, unless they prove themselves able to read and write, 
and to exercise a mechanical profession. The manual 
operations of agriculture belong to the mechanical pro- 
fessions. 

This article shall not take effect until the tenth year of 
the republic. 

Title III. — Primary Assemblies. 

17. The primary assemblies are composed of citizens do- 
miciliated in the same canton. 

The domicil required for voting in these assemblies is 
acquired by residence alone during a year, and is lost by 
a year's absence. 

18. No one can have a substitute in the primary assem- 
blies, or vote for the same object in more than one of these 
assemblies. 

19. There is at least one primary assembly per canton. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 169 

When there are more, each is composed of 450 citizens 
at least, of 900 at most. 

These numbers are understood of the citizens who, 
whether present or absent, have a right to vote in them. 

20. The primary assemblies are constituted provisionally 
under the presidency of the senior in age ; the youngest 
filling provisionally the office of secretary. 

21. They are definitively constituted, by the appointment 
by ballot, of a president, secretary and three scrutators. 

22. If difficulties arise on the qualities requisite for vot- 
ing, the assembly decides provisionally, saving recourse to 
the civil tribunal of the department. 

23. In every other case, the legislative body alone decides 
on the validity of the measures of the primary assemblies. 

24. No one can appear in arms in the primary assemblies. 

25. Their police belongs to them. 

26. The primary assemblies meet, — 1. To accept or reject 
the alterations in the constitutional act proposed by the 
assemblies of revision ; 2. To make, in pursuance of the 
constitutional act, the elections which belong to them. 

27. They meet of full right the first germinal (21 March) 
of every year, and proceed as circumstances require, to the 
appointment, — 1. Of members of the electoral assembly; 
2. Of the judge of the peace and his assessors ; 3. Of the 
president of the municipal administration of the canton, or 
of the municipal officers in communes of more than five 
thousand inhabitants. 

28. Immediately after the said elections, in communes of 
less than five thousand inhabitants, communal assemblies 
are held which elect the agents of each commune and their 
assistants. 

29. Whatever is done in a primary or communal assem- 
bly beyond the object of its convocation, and against the 
forms determined by the constitution, is null and of no 
effect. 



170 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

30. The assemblies, whether primary or communal, make 
no other election than those which are assigned to them by 
the constitutional act. 

31. All elections are made by secret ballot. 

32. Every citizen who is legally convicted of having sold 
or purchased a vote, is excluded from the primary and 
communal assemblies and from all public functions, during 
twenty years : in case of a second offence, for ever. 

Title IV. — Electoral Assemblies. 

33. Each primary assembly appoints an elector for 200 
citizens, present or absent, who have a right to vote in the 
said assembly. 

Up to 300 citizens inclusive, one elector only is appoint- 
ed ; from 300 to 500, two ; from 500 to 700, three ; from 
700 to 900, four. 

34. The members of the electoral assemblies are appoint- 
ed every year, and cannot be re-elected until after an inter- 
val of two years. 

35. No one can be appointed an elector unless he is full 
twenty-five years of age, and unites to the qualities neces- 
sary for exercising the rights of a French citizen, one of 
the following conditions : 

In communes of more than 6000 inhabitants, that of 
having property, or the usufruct of property, valued at a' 
rent equal to the local value of 200 days' labour, or being 
tenant (locataire), either of a habitation valued at a rent 
equal to the value of 150 days' labour, or of a rural estate 
valued at 200 days' labour. 

In communes of less than 6000 inhabitants, that of 
having property, or the usufruct of property, valued at a 
rent equal to the local value of 150 days' labour ; or being 
tenant, either of a habitation valued at a rent equal to the 
value of 100 days' labour, or of a rural estate valued at 100 
days' labour. 



CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 171 

And in the country, that of having property or the usu- 
fruct of property valued at a rent equal to the local value 
of 150 days' labour, or being farmer or metayer of property 
estimated at the value of 200 days' labour. 

With regard to those who are proprietors or have the 
usufruct of one property, and are occupiers, farmers or 
metayers of another, their qualifications under these differ- 
ent heads shall be estimated in the gross up to the amount 
necessary to establish their eligibility. 

36. The electoral assembly of each department meets the 
20 germinal (April 9) of every year, and terminates in a 
single session of ten days at most, and without power to 
adjourn, all the elections before them : after which it is of 
full right dissolved. 

37. The electoral assemblies cannot deliberate on any 
subject foreign to the elections with which they are charged : 
they can neither send nor receive any address, petition or 
deputation. 

38. The electoral assemblies cannot correspond with each 
other. 

39. No citizen having been member of an electoral as- 
sembly can take the title of elector, or unite himself in this 
quality with those who have been members of the same 
assembly with him. 

He is guilty of an attempt against the general safety, 
who acts in contravention of the present article. 

40. Articles 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32 of the 
preceding title, on primary assemblies, are common to elec- 
toral assemblies. 

41. The electoral assemblies elect, as circumstances re- 
quire : — The members of the legislative body, viz., the mem- 
bers of the council of ancients, then the members of the 
council of five hundred ; 2. The members of the tribunal 
of cassation ; 3. The high jurors ; 4. The administrators 
of department; 5. The president, public accuser and 



172 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

register of the criminal tribunal ; 6. The judges of the civil 
tribunals. 

42. When a citizen is chosen by an electoral assembly to 
an office vacant by the death, resignation or dismission of 
a functionary, this citizen is elected for the time only, yet 
unexpired, of the said functionary's term. 

43. The commissioner of the executive directory attached 
to the administration of each department is obliged, on 
pain of dismission, to make the directory acquainted with 
the opening and closing of the electoral assemblies : this 
commissioner can neither stop nor suspend the operations 
of the assemblies, nor enter the seat of their deliberations ; 
but he has a right to demand communication of the mi- 
nutes of each sitting within the twenty-four hours following 
it ; and he is obliged to denounce to the directory the vio- 
lations which might be offered to the constitutional act. 

In all cases, the legislative body alone pronounces on the 
validity of the operations of the electoral assemblies. 

Title V. — Legislative Power. General Dispositions. 

44. The legislative body is composed of a council of an- 
cients and a council of five hundred. 

45. In no case can the legislative body delegate to one 
or more of its members, or to any person whatever, any of 
the functions which are attributed to it by the present con- 
stitution. 

46. It cannot exercise by itself, or by its delegates, the 
executive or the judicial power. 

47. The rank of member of the legislative body is incom- 
patible with the exercise of any other public function, ex- 
cept that of archivist of the republic. 

48. The law determines the manner in which the offices 
vacated, either definitively or pro tempore, by the election 
of public functionaries to the legislative body, are filled up. 

49. Each department concurs in the appointment of 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 173 

members of the council of ancients and council p of five hun- 
dred in proportion to its population. 

50. Every ten years, the legislative body, according to 
estimates of population transmitted to it, determines the 
number of members which the several departments are to 
furnish each council. 

51. No alteration can be made in this distribution 
during the said interval. 

52. The members of the legislative body are not repre- 
sentatives of the department which appoints them, but of 
the whole nation ; and no instructions can be given them. 

53. Both councils are renewed every year by a third. 

54. The members going out after three years' service 
may be immediately re-elected for the three following 
years ; after which an interval of two years must elapse 
before they can be again eligible. 

55. No one in any case, can be a member of the legis- < 
lative body during more than six successive years. 

56. If, by extraordinary circumstances, one of the two 
councils find itself reduced to less than two-thirds of its 
members, it gives notice thereof to the executive directory, 
which is bound to convoke, without delay, the primary 
assemblies of the departments which, in consequence of 
such circumstances, have members to replace in the legis- 
lative body : the primary assemblies immediately appoint 
electors who proceed to fill up the vacancies. 

57. The members newly elected for either council meet 
the first prairial (May 20th) of every year, in the commune 
fixed upon by the legislative body preceding, or in the 
same commune where it held its last sitting, if no other 
has been pointed out. 

58. The two councils always reside in the same com- 
mune. 

59. The legislative body is permanent: it may never- 
theless adjourn itself for stated periods. 



174 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

60. In no case can the two councils meet in one and the 
same hall. 

61. Neither in the council of ancients, nor in that of 
the council of five hundred, can the functions of president 
and secretary continue more than a month. 

62. The two councils have respectively the right of 
police in the place of their sessions, and in the external 
circuit which they determine upon. 

63. The two councils have respectively the right of 
police over their members ; but they cannot pronounce a 
heavier punishment than censure, arrests for eight days 
and imprisonment for three. 

64. The sittings of both councils are public. The stran- 
gers present cannot exceed in number half the respective 
members of each council. The minutes of the sittings 
are printed. 

65. Every resolution is taken by sitting down and rising 
up : in case of doubt, their names are called over : but the 
votes on such an occasion are secret. 

66. On the demand of a hundred of its members, each 
council may resolve itself into a general and secret com- 
mittee, but solely for discussing and not for voting on a 
subject. 

67. Neither council can create a permanent committee 
out of its own members. 

Only, each council has the power, when a subject ap- 
pears to it susceptible of a previous examination, to ap- 
point from among its members a special commission, 
which confines itself solely to the object of its formation. 

This commission is dissolved as soon as the council has 
come to a resolution on the subject with which it was 
charged. 

68. The members of the legislative body receive an an- 
nual indemnity, fixed for both councils, at the value of 
3000 myriagrammes of wheat (613 quintals 32 pounds.) 



CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 175 

69. The executive directory cannot march or halt any 
body of troops within the distance of six myriametres 
(twelve mean leagues) of the commune where the legis- 
lative body holds its sessions, unless on the requisition of 
the said body or by its authority. 

70. A guard of citizens taken from the national sedentary 
guard of all the departments, and chosen by their brothers 
in arms, attends the legislative body. This guard cannot 
be less than fifteen hundred men in active service. 

71. The legislative body determines the mode and du- 
ration of this service. 

72. The legislative body does not attend any public 
ceremony or send thither any deputation. 

Council of Five Hundred. 

73. The council of five hundred is invariably fixed at 
this number. 

74. To be elected member of the council of five hundred, 
it is necessary to be full thirty years of age, and to have 
been domiciliated on the territory of the republic during 
the ten years which have immediately preceded the 
election. 

The condition as to the age of thirty years shall not be 
exacted before the seventh year of the republic : till that 
period, it shall be deemed sufficient to have attained the 
full age of twenty-five. 

75. The council of five hundred cannot deliberate if 
the meeting be not composed of at least two hundred 
members. 

76. The privilege of proposing laws belongs exclusively 
to the council of five hundred. 

77. No proposition can be debated or resolved upon 
in the council of five hundred without observing the fol- 
lowing forms : 

The proposition is read three times ; and the intervals 



176 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

between two of these readings cannot be less than ten 
days. 

The discussion opens after each reading ; yet after the 
first or second, the council of five hundred may declare 
that there is ground for an adjournment, or that there is 
no ground for deliberating. 

Every proposition must be printed and distributed two 
days before the second reading. 

After the third reading, the council of five hundred de- 
cides whether or not there be ground for adjournment. 

78. Every proposition which, submitted to discussion, 
has been ultimately rejected after the third reading, can- 
not be again brought forward until after a year's interval. 

79. The propositions adopted by the council of five hun- 
dred are called resolutions. 

80. The preamble to every resolution sets forth : — 1st. 
The dates of the three readings of the proposition ; 
2d. The act, after the third reading, by which it was de- 
clared that there was no ground for adjournment. 

81. Propositions acknowledged urgent by a previous 
declaration of the council of five hundred, are exempt from 
the forms prescribed by Art. 77. This declaration sets 
forth the motives for such urgency and is referred to in 
the preamble to the resolution. 

Council of Ancients. 

82. The council of ancients is composed of two hun- 
dred and fifty members. 

83. To be elected member of the council of ancients it 
is necessary to be ; 

Full forty years of age ; to be a married man or widower ; 
and to have had his domicil on the territory of the re- 
public during the fifteen years which shall have imme- 
diately preceded the election. 

84. The condition as to domicil required by the pre- 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 177 

ceding article and that prescribed by Art. 74, do not ex- 
tend to citizens who have gone abroadon a mission from 
the government. 

85. The council of ancients cannot deliberate, unless 
the sitting be composed of at least one hundred and twenty- 
six members. 

86. It belongs exclusively to the council of ancients to 
approve or reject the resolutions of the council of five 
hundred. 

87. As soon as a resolution of the council of five hun- 
dred comes to the council of ancients, the president reads 
the preamble. 

88. The council of ancients refuses to approve the re- 
solutions of the council of five hundred which have not 
been taken according to the forms prescribed by the con- 
stitution. 

89. Should the proposition have been declared urgent 
by the council of five hundred, the council of ancients 
deliberates upon approving or rejecting such act of ur- 
gency. 

90. If the council of ancients reject the act of urgency, 
it does not deliberate on the grounds of the resolution. 

91. If the resolution be not preceded by an act of ur- 
gency, it is read three times : the interval between two 
of these readings cannot be less than five days. 

After each reading the discussion opens. 
Every resolution is printed and distributed at least two 
days before the second reading. 

92. The resolutions of the council of five hundred 
adopted by the council of ancients, are called laws. 

93. The preamble to laws sets forth the dates of the 
sittings of the council of ancients in which the three read- 
ings took place. 

94. The decree of the council of ancients acknowledging 

Vol. I. N 



178 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

the urgency of a law, is mentioned, with the motives for 
such urgency annexed, in the preamble to this law. 

95. The proposition of a law passed by the council of five 
hundred, extends to all the articles of the same project : the 
council of ancients must either reject them all or approve 
them all. 

96. The approbation of the council of ancients is express- 
ed on every proposition of law by this formula, signed by 
the president and secretaries : The council of ancients 
approves. 

97. A refusal to adopt, on account of omission of the 
forms laid down in Art. 77, is expressed by the formula, 
signed by the president and secretaries. The constitution 
annuls. 

98. A refusal to approve the principle of a law proposed 
is expressed by the formula, signed by the president and 
secretaries : The council of ancients mnnot adopt. 

99. In the case last mentioned (Art. 98), the project of 
law rejected cannot be again presented by the council of 
five hundred, until after the interval of a year. 

100. The council of five hundred may nevertheless pre- 
sent, at any period whatever, a project of law containing 
articles which formed part of a rejected project. 

101. The council of ancients transmits the laws which 
it has adopted, within the day, as well to the council of 
five hundred as to the executive directory. 

102. The council of ancients may change the residence 
of the legislative body ; in this case, it points out a new 
place, and the time when the two councils are obliged to 
appear there. 

The decree of the council of ancients on this subject is 
irrevocable. 

103. The very day of the decree, neither council can any 
longer deliberate in the commune in which they have hi- 
therto resided. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 179 

The members who continue their functions there, render 
themselves guilty of attempt against the safety of the 
republic. 

104. The members of the executive directory who delay 
or refuse to seal, promulgate and transmit the decree for 
the removal of the legislative body, are guilty of the same 
offence. 

105. If, within twenty days after that fixed by the coun- 
cil of ancients, a majority of each council shall not have 
notified to the republic their arrival at the place recently 
appointed, or their meeting in some other place, the ad- 
ministrators of departments, or in their default, the civil 
tribunals of departments, shall convoke the primary assem- 
blies for appointing electors, who shall immediately pro- 
ceed to the formation of a new legislative body, by the 
election of two hundred and fifty deputies for the council 
of ancients, and five hundred for the other council. 

106. The administrators of departments who, under 
the circumstances laid down in the preceding article, delay 
convoking the primary assemblies, render themselves guilty 
of high treason and attempt against the safety of the 
republic. 

107. All citizens who oppose any obstacle to .the convo- 
cation of the primary and electoral assemblies in the case 
mentioned in Art. 106, are declared guilty of the same 
offence. 

108. The members of the new legislative body assemble 
in the place to which the council of ancients had trans- 
ferred their sessions. If they cannot meet in this place, 
wherever a majority shall be found, there is the legislative 
body. 

109. The case mentioned in Art. 102 excepted, no pro- 
position of law can originate in the council of ancients. 

N 2 



180 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 



Of the Seeurity of Members of the Legislative Body. 

110. The citizens who are, or have been members of the 
legislative body, cannot be caHed to an account, accused, or 
judged at any time for what they may have said or written 
in the exercise of their functions. 

111. The members of the legislative body from the 
moment of their appointment to the thirtieth day after the 
expiration of their functions, cannot be brought to trial, 
except according to the forms prescribed in the following 
articles. 

112. They may for criminal actions be apprehended in 
flagrante delicto ; but notice thereof must be given without 
delay to the legislative body ; and the prosecution cannot 
be carried on until the council of five hundred has proposed 
their being brought to trial, and the council of ancients 
decreed it. 

113. Except in the case of flagrans delictum, the mem- 
bers of the legislative body cannot be brought before the 
officers of police or put under arrest, before the council of 
five hundred has proposed their being brought to trial, 
and the council of ancients has decreed it. 

114. In the cases laid down in the two preceding articles, 
a member of the legislative body cannot be brought before 
any tribunal but the high court of justice. 

115. They are brought before the same court for acts of 
treason, dilapidation, manoeuvres for subverting the con- 
stitution, and attempts against the internal safety of the 
republic. 

116. No denunciation against a member of the legisla- 
tive body can give rise to a prosecution, if it be not drawn 
up in writing, signed and addressed to the council of five 
hundred. 

117. If, after having deliberated thereon in the form 
prescribed by Art. 77, the council of five hundred admit the 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 181 

denunciation, it declares such admission in the following 
terms : 

The Denunciation against . . . for the act of . . . 
dated . . . signed by . . . is admitted. 

118. The person accused is then summoned: a delay 
of three clear days is allowed for his appearance, and 
when he appears, he is heard in the interior of the place 
of sessions of the council of five hundred. 

119. Whether the accused be present or not, the council 
of five hundred declares after this delay, if there be, or be 
not, room for an examination of his conduct. 

120. If it be declared by the council of five hundred, that 
there is room for an examination, the person accused is 
summoned by the council of ancients. A delay of three 
clear days is allowed for his appearance, and if he appear, 
he is heard in the interior of the place of sessions of the 
council of ancients. 

121. Whether the accused be present or not, the council 
of ancients after this delay, and after having deliberated 
according to the forms prescribed by Art. 91, pronounces 
the accusation, if there be room for it, and sends the 
accused before the high court of justice, which is bound to 
proceed to trial without any delay. 

122. Every discussion in the councils, relative to the 
charging or accusing a member of the legislative body, is 
carried on in a general committee. 

Every resolution on the same subject is taken by calling 
over the names, and by secret ballot. 

123. An accusation pronounced against a member of 
the legislative body carries with it suspension. 

If he be acquitted by the sentence of the high court of 
justice, he resumes his functions. 

Relations of the two Councils with each other. 

124. When the two councils are definitively constituted, 
they give mutual notice by a messenger of state. 



182 CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 

125. Each council appoints four messengers of state for 
its service. 

126. They carry to each council and to the executive 
directory, the laws and acts of the legislative body : they 
have admission for this purpose into the place of sittings 
of the executive directory. 

They march preceded by two ushers. 

127. One of the councils cannot adjourn beyond five 
days, without the consent of the other. 

Promulgation of Laws. 

128. The executive directory seals and publishes the laws 
and other acts of the legislative body, within two days after 
their reception. 

129. It seals and promulgates, within the day, the laws 
and acts of the legislative body which are preceded by a 
decree of urgency. 

130. The publication of the law and acts of the legisla- 
tive body, is ordered in the form following : 

In the name of the French republic, (law) or (act of the 
legislative body) . . . The directory ordains that the 
above law or act of the legislative body be published, carried 
into execution, and furnished with the seal of the republic. 

131. The laws of which the preamble does not attest 
the observance of the forms prescribed by Art. 77 and 91 
cannot be promulgated by the executive directory, and its 
responsibility on this point shall continue six years. 

The laws for which an act of urgency has been approved 
by the council of ancients, are excepted. 

Title VI.— Executive Power. 

132. The executive power is delegated to a directory of 
five members, appointed by the legislative body, then per- 
forming the functions of an electoral assembly, in the name 
of the nation. 

133. The council of five hundred forms, by secret ballot, 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 183 

a list containing ten times the number of persons there 
are members of the directory to be appointed, and presents 
it to the council of ancients, who choose by secret ballot 
out of this list. 

134. The members of the directory must be at least forty 
years of age. 

135. They can only be chosen from among citizens who 
have been members of the legislative body, or ministers. 

The observance of this law shall date from the ninth 
year of the republic. 

136. From the first day of the fifth year of the republic, 
the members of the legislative body cannot be elected 
members of the directory or ministers, either during the 
continuance of their legislative functions, or during the 
first year after the expiration of those functions. 

137. The directory is partially renewed by the election 
of a new member every year. Lot shall decide, during the 
first four years, on the successive exit of those appointed 
the first time. 

138. No member going out can be re-elected until after 
an interval of five years. 

139. The ascendant and descendant in line direct, bro- 
thers, the uncle, and the nephew, cousins in the first degree, 
and connexions by marriage in the same degrees, cannot be 
at the same time members of the directory, or succeed 
each other therein until after an interval of five years. 

140. In case of vacancy by death, resignation, or other- 
wise, in the directory, a successor is elected by the legisla- 
tive body within a period of ten days at most. The council 
of five hundred is obliged to propose the candidates within 
the first five days, and the council of ancients must com- 
plete the election within the five last. 

The new member is only elected for the time remaining 
to the person whom he replaces. 

Should this time, however, not exceed six months, the 



184 



CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 



4 



citizen elected shall continue in office till the fifth following 
year. (For five years and a half.) 

141. Every member of the directory presides in his turn 
during three months only. 

The president has the signature and keeping of the seal. 
The laws and acts of the legislative body are addressed 
to the directory in the person of its president. 

142. The executive directory cannot deliberate unless at 
least three of its members are present. 

143. It chooses, from others than its own members, a 
secretary who countersigns dispatches, and draws up the 
deliberations on a register, in which each member has the 
right of entering his opinion, with the reasons for it, 

The directory may deliberate without the assistance of 
its secretary, when it thinks proper : in this case, the deli- 
berations are drawn up on a particular register by one of 
the members of the directory. 

144. The directory provides according to the laws, for 
the internal and external safety of the republic. 

It can make proclamations conformable to the laws, and 
in execution of them. 

It disposes of the armed force ; but in no case can the 
directory collectively, or any one of its members, whether 
during the continuance of their functions or the two years 
immediately following such functions, command it. 

145. If the directory be informed that any conspiracy 
is plotting against the external or internal security of the 
state, it may issue warrants of summons, or warrants of 
arrest against the presumed authors or accomplices : it 
may interrogate them ; but it is obliged, under the penal- 
ties enacted against the crime of arbitrary detention, to 
commit them within the delay of two days, to the custody 
of the officer of police, in order to proceed according to the 
laws. 

\ 146. The directory appoints the generals in chief, but 



CONSTITUTION OF 



1795. 185 



cannot choose them from among the relations or connexions 
of its members within the degrees laid down in Art. 139. 

147. It watches over and assures the execution of the 
laws in the administrations and tribunals, by commissioners 
of its nomination. 

148. The directory appoints, not of its own number, the 
ministers, and dismisses them when it thinks fit. It 
cannot choose them under the age of thirty years, nor from 
among the relations or connexions of its members within 
the degrees laid down in art. 139. 

149. The ministers correspond immediately with the 
authorities subordinate to them. 

150. The legislative body determines the number and 
attributes of the ministers. They cannot be less than six, y^ 
nor more than eight in number. 

151. The ministers do not form a council. 

152. The ministers are respectively responsible, both for 
the non-execution of laws, and for the non-execution of 
the decrees of the directory. 

153. The directory appoints the receiver of direct taxes 
in each department. 

154. It appoints the overseers in chief of indirect taxes, 
and of the administration of national domains. 

155. All the public functionaries in the French colonies, 
the departments of the Isles of France and Reunion ex- 
cepted, shall be appointed by the directory till peace. 

156. The legislative body may authorize the directory to * 
send into all the French colonies, as circumstances may 
require, one or more particular agents appointed by it for a 
limited time. The particular agents shall exercise the 
same functions as the directory, and be subordinate to that 
body. 

157. No member of the directory can withdraw from the 
territory of the republic till two years after the cessation of 
his functions. 



186 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

158. During this interval, he is obliged to prove his 
residence to the legislative body. 

Article 112 and following to Art.' : 123 inclusively, relative 
to the guarantee of the legislative body, are common to the 
members of the directory. 

159. In case of more than two members of the directory 
being brought to trial, the legislative body shall provide 
in the ordinary forms for replacing them provisionally, 
during the trial. 

160. Except in the cases laid down in art. 119 and 120, 
neither the directory nor any of its members can be cited, 
either by the council of five hundred, or by that of the 
ancients. 

161. The accounts and informations demanded of the 
directory by either council, are furnished in writing. 

162. The directory is every year obliged to present to both 
councils (in writing) an estimate of the expenses, the situa- 
tion of the finances, the state of existing pensions, as well 
as the project of those which it thinks it expedient to 
establish. 

It must point out such abuses as have come to its 
knowledge. 

163. The directory is at all times at liberty to invite the 
council of five hundred, in writing, to take a subject into 
consideration : it may propose measures to that body, but 
not projects drawn up in the form of laws. 

164. No member of the directory can absent himself 
more than five days, or move more than four myriametres 
(eight mean leagues) from the place of the residence of the 
directory, without the authority of the legislative body. 

165. The members of the directory cannot appear in the 
exercise of their functions, whether without or within 
their houses, unless clothed in their proper costume. 

166. The directory has a constant guard paid at the 
expense of the republic : it is composed of one hun~ 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 187 

dred and twenty horse, and the same number of foot 
soldiers. 

167. The directory is attended by its guards in cere- 
monies and public processions, in which it has always the 
first place. 

168. Each member of the directory, when out, is attended 
by two guards. 

169. Every military post owes to the directory and each 
of its members, the superior military honours. 

170. The directory has four messengers of state, whom 
it appoints, and whom it may remove. 

They carry to the two councils the letters and memorials 
of the directory : they have admission for this purpose into 
the place of sittings of the legislative councils. 

They march preceded by two ushers. 

171. The directory resides in the same commune with 
the legislative body. 

172. The members of the directory are lodged at the 
expense of the republic, and in the same edifice. 

173. The salary of each member is fixed at the value 
of 50,000 myriagrammes of wheat (10,222 quintals) per 
annum. 

Title VII. — Administrative and Municipal Bodies, 

174. In every department is at least one central ad- 
ministration, and in every canton one municipal admi- 
nistration. 

175. Every member of a departmental or municipal ad- 
ministration must be at least twenty-five years of age. 

176. The ascendant and descendant in line direct, bro- 
thers, the uncle and the nephew, and connexions by mar- 
riage in the same degrees, cannot at the same time be 
members of the same administration, or succeed each other 
therein until after an interval of two years. 



188 CONSTITUTION OP 1795. 

177. Every departmental administration is composed of 
five members, and is annually renewed by a fifth. 

178. Every commune of which the population is from 
five to one hundred thousand inhabitants has a municipal 
administration. 

179. In every commune of which the population is less 
than five thousand inhabitants, there is a municipal agent 
and an assistant. 

180. The union of the municipal agents of each com- 
mune forms the municipality of canton. 

181. There is, moreover, a president of municipal admi- 
nistration chosen out of the whole canton. 

182. In communes of which the population is from five 
to ten thousand inhabitants, there are five municipal 
officers ; 

In those of ten to fifty thousand inhabitants, seven ; 
In those of fifty to a hundred thousand, nine ; 

183. In communes of which the population exceeds a 
hundred thousand inhabitants, there are at least three mu- 
nicipal administrations. 

In these communes, the division of municipalities is made 
in such a manner that the population of the arrondissement 
of each does not exceed fifty thousand individuals, and is 
not less than thirty thousand. 

The municipality of each arrondissement is composed of 
seven members. 

184. In communes divided into several municipalities, 
a central office is established for such subjects as are 
judged of an indivisible nature by the legislative body. 

This office is composed of three members appointed by 
the departmental administration, and confirmed by the 
executive power. 

185. The members of every municipal administration 
are appointed for two years, and renewed every year by 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 189 

\)fte half ; or by a part approximating the nearest to one 
half, and alternately, by the larger and smaller fraction. 

186. The administrators of departments and members 
of the municipal administrations, may be re-elected once, 
without any interval. 

187. Every citizen who has been elected twice following 
administrator of department, or member of a municipal 
administration, and who has discharged the functions in 
virtue of both elections, cannot be elected again till after 
an interval of two years. 

188. In case a departmental or municipal administra- 
tion should lose one or more of its members by death, re- 
signation or otherwise, the remaining administrators may 
add to replace them, temporary administrators, to act in 
this capacity till the next elections. 

189. The departmental and municipal administrations 
cannot modify the acts of the legislative body, or those of 
the executive directory, or suspend the execution of them. 

They cannot interfere in subjects depending on the ju- 
dicial order. 

190. The administrators are essentially charged with 
the assessment of direct taxes, and with the superinten- 
dency of money arising from the public revenues in their 
territory. 

The legislative body determines the rules and mode of 
their functions, as well on these points, as on the other 
parts of the interior administrations. 

191. The executive directory appoints a commissioner to 
each departmental and municipal administration, whom it 
can recal when it thinks fit. 

This commissioner watches over and requires the ex- 
ecution of the laws. 

192. The commissioner attached to each local admi- 
nistration, must be chosen from among the citizens domi- 



190 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

ciliated for a year past in the department where such ad- 
ministration is established. 

He must be at least twenty-five years of age. 

193. The municipal administrations are subordinate to 
the departmental administrations, and these to the mi- 
nisters. 

In consequence, the ministers, each in his department, 
may annul the acts of departmental administrations, and 
the latter the acts of the municipal administrations, when 
those acts are contrary to the laws or orders of the superior 
authorities. 

194. The ministers may also suspend the administrators 
of departments who have acted in contravention to the laws 
or orders of the superior authorities : and the administra- 
tors of departments have the same right with regard to 
the members of municipal administrations. 

195. No act of suspension or annulling is definitive, 
without the formal sanction of the executive directory. 

196. The directory may also annul immediately the acts 
of departmental or municipal administrations. 

It may suspend or remove immediately, when it thinks 
necessary, the administrators, either of department or can- 
ton, and when there are grounds for it, send them before 
the departmental tribunals. 

197. Every decree importing cassation of acts, the sus- 
pension or discharge of administrators, must be accom- 
panied by a statement of the motives which lead to it. 

198. When the five members composing a departmental 
administration are deposed, the executive directory pro- 
vides for the vacancy till the following election : but it can- 
not choose their provisional successors except from among 
the old administrators of the same department, 

199. The administrations, whether of department or can- 
ton, can only correspond with each other on such affairs as 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 191 

are attributed to them by law, and not on the general in- 
terests of the republic. 

200. Every administration must give an annual account 
of its conduct. 

The accounts rendered by the departmental administra- 
tions are printed. 

201. All the acts of administrative bodies are rendered 
public by a register in which they aie enrolled, and which 
is open to all persons under their administration. 

This register is closed every six months, and is not depo- 
sited for inspection till the day on which it is closed. 

The legislative body may extend the delay fixed for this 
deposit according to circumstances. 

Title VIII. — Judicial Power. General Dispositions. 

202. The judicial functions cannot be exercised either by 
the legislative body or the executive power. 

203. The judges cannot interfere in the exercise of the 
legislative power, or make any regulation. 

They cannot stop or suspend the execution of any law, 
or cite the administrators before them on account of their 
functions. 

204. No one can be withdrawn from the judges whom 
the law assigns him, by any commission, or other attribu- 
tions than such as are determined by an antecedent law. 

205. Justice is administered gratuitously. 

206. The judges cannot be deposed except by forfeiture 
legally pronounced, or suspended from their functions, 
except by an admitted accusation. 

207. The ascendant and descendant in line direct, bro- 
thers, the uncle and nephew, cousins in the first degree, 
and connexions by marriage or alliance in those different 
degrees, cannot be at the same time members of the same 
tribunal. 

208. The sessions of the tribunals are public : the judges 



192 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

deliberate in secret : sentences are pronounced aloud, and 
the grounds of the sentence, with the terms of the law ap- 
plied, are also set forth. 

209. No citizen who has not attained the full age of 
thirty can be elected judge of a tribunal of department, 
judge of the peace, assessor to a judge of the peace, judge 
of a tribunal of commerce, member of the tribunal of cassa- 
tion, juror, or commissioner of the executive directory at- 
tached to the tribunals of civil justice. 

Civil Fustice. 

210. No obstacle can be opposed to the right which 
parties at variance enjoy, of deciding their differences by 
arbitrators of their own choice. 

211. The decision of these arbitrators is without appeal 
and without recourse to cassation, except the parties have 
expressly reserved it. 

212. In every arrondissement determined by law, is a 
justice of peace and his assessors. They are all elected for 
two years* and may be immediately and indefinitely re- 
elected. 

213. The law determines the subjects of which the justices 
of peace and their assessors take cognizance in the last 
resort. 

It assigns them others which they judge subject to 
appeal. 

214. There are particular tribunals for the commerce of 
land and sea : the law determines the places where it is 
permitted to establish them. Their power of judging in the 
last resort cannot extend beyond the value of 500 myria- 
grammes of wheat (102 quintals 22 pounds). 

215. Affairs of which the judgment belongs neither to the 
justices of peace, nor tribunals of commerce, either in the 
last resort or subject to appeal, are carried immediately be- 
fore the justice of peace and his assessors, to be reconciled. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 193 

If the justice of peace cannot effect a reconciliation, he 
refers them to the civil tribunal. 

216. There is a civil tribunal for every department. 
Each civil tribunal is composed of at least twenty judges, 

a commissioner and deputy, appointed and removeable by 
the executive directory, and a registrar. 

Every five years, all the members of the tribunal are 
elected. The judges are always re-eligible. 

217. When the judges are elected, five supplements are 
appointed, three of whom are taken from among the ci- 
tizens residing in the commune where the tribunal sits. 

218. The civil tribunal pronounces in the last resort, in 
such cases as are determined by law, on appeals from judg- 
ments of justices of peace, arbitrators or tribunals of com- 
merce. 

219. Appeals from judgments pronounced by the civil 
tribunal are carried before the civil tribunal of one of the 
three nearest departments, as shall be determined by law. 

220. The civil tribunal is divided into sections. A sec- 
tion composed of less than five judges is not competent to 
judge. 

221. The judges forming each tribunal appoint by secret 
scrutiny, and from their own number, the president of 
each section. 

Correctional and Criminal Justice. 

222. No one can be apprehended except to be conducted 
before the officer of police ; and no one can be put under 
arrest or detained, except in virtue of a warrant from the 
officers of police, or of the executive directory in the case 
laid down in Art. 145. of a writ of arrest either of a tribunal 
or director of a jury of accusation, or of a decree of accusa- 
tion by the legislative body in such cases as it belongs to 
that assembly to pronounce it ; or of a sentence of con- 
demnation to prison or correctional detention. 

Vol. I. O 



194 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

223. For an instrument ordering arrest to be held valid, 
it is necessary : 

1st. That it should express the cause of such arrest, and 
the law in conformity to which it is ordered ; 

2d. That it has been notified to him who is the object 
of it, and a copy of it left with him. 

224. See Constitution of 1791, On the Judicial Power, 
Chap. V. Art. 11, from which this and the following articles 
are taken. 

225. Idem, Art. 11. 

226. Idem, Art. 12. 

227. Idem, Art. 13. 

228. No keeper or gaoler can receive or detain any per- 
son, except in virtue of a warrant of arrest, according to 
the forms prescribed by Art. 223, of an order of caption, 
a decree of accusation, or of a judgment of condemnation 
to prison or correctional detention, and unless such instru- 
ment shall have been transcribed on his register. 

229. See Constitution of 1791, Chap. V. Art. 15. 

230. Idem, Art. 15. 

231. Idem, Art. 16. 

232. All kinds of severity employed in arrests, detentions 
or executions, beyond what are prescribed by law, are crimes. 

233. In every department, for the trial of offences of 
which the penalty is neither corporal nor infamous, correc- 
tional tribunals are established, which shall not be less 
than three nor more than six in number. 

These tribunals cannot pronounce heavier punishments 
than imprisonment for two years. 

The cognizance of offences of which the punishment does 
not exceed the value of three days' labour, or imprisonment 
for three days, is delegated to the judge of the peace, who 
pronounces in the last resort. 

234. Every correctional tribunal is composed of a pre- 
sident, two judges of the peace, or assessors to judges of 



ONSTITUTIOX OF 



1795. 195 



the peace of the commune in which such tribunal is es- 
tablished, of a commissioner of the executive power ap- 
pointed and removeable by the executive directory, and of 
a registrar. 

235. The president of every correctional tribunal is 
taken, every six months and by turns, from among the 
members of the sections of the civil tribunal of depart- 
ment, the presidents excepted. 

236. Appeal lies from the judgments of the correctional 
tribunal to the criminal tribunal of the department. 

237. In the matter of offences subject to corporal or in- 
famous punishment, no person can be tried except on an 
accusation admitted by jurors or decreed by the legislative 
body in all cases where it belongs to that body to make a 
decree of accusation. 

238. A first jury declares if the accusation ought to be 
admitted or rejected : a second jury takes cognizance of 
the fact ; and the punishment fixed by law is applied by the 
criminal tribunal. 

239. The jurors vote only by secret ballot. 

240. In every department as many juries of accusation 
are established as correctional tribunals. 

The presidents of the correctional tribunals, each in his 
arrondissement, are the directors of the juries. 

In communes of above fifty thousand souls, besides the 
president of the correctional tribunal, the law can estab- 
lish as many directors of juries of accusation as the dis- 
patch of affairs may require. 

241. The functions, of commissioner of the executive 
power, and of registrar to the director of the jury of accu- 
sation, are discharged by the commissioner and registrar 
of the correctional tribunal. 

242. Every director of a jury of accusation has the im- 
mediate superintendency of all the officers of police of his 
arrondissement. 

o 2 



196 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

243. The director of a jury prosecutes immediately, as 
officer of police, on the denunciations which the public 
accuser, either officially or by order of the executive direc- 
tory, makes to him : 1. Offences against the liberty or indi- 
vidual safety of individuals; 2. Those committed against 
the right of persons ; 3. Resistance to the execution of judg- 
ments, or to any executive act emanating from the consti- 
tuted authorities ; 4. The troubles occasioned and the acts 
of violence committed, to obstruct the collection of contri- 
butions, or the free circulation of provisions and other 
articles of commerce. 

244. A criminal tribunal is established for every depart- 
ment. 

245. It is composed of a presidext, public accuser, four 
judges chosen in the civil tribunal, a commissioner of the 
executive power attached to the same tribunal, or his sub- 
stitutes, and a registrar. 

In the criminal tribunal of the department of the Seine 
there is a vice-president and a substitute to the public ac- 
cuser : this tribunal is divided into two sections: eight 
members of the civil tribunal exercise in it the functions of 
judges. 

246. The presidents of sections of the civil tribunal can- 
not officiate as judges in the criminal tribunal. 

247. The other judges serve therein, each in his turn, 
for a period of six months, in the order of their nomina- 
tion : and cannot during that period exercise any function 
in the civil tribunal. 

248. The public accuser is charged, 1. With prosecuting 
offences on acts of accusation admitted by the first jurors ; 
2. With transmitting to the officers of police the denuncia- 
tions which are addressed to him directly ; 3. With watching 
over the conduct of the officers of police of the department, 
and with acting against them according to law in case of 
negligence or more weighty offences. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 197 

249. The commissioner of the executive power is charged, 
1. With requiring attention to forms during the process, 
and before judgment the due application of the law ; 2. With 
following the execution of the judgments passed by the 
criminal tribunal. 

250. The judges cannot propose any complex question 

to the jury. 

251. The jury to try is composed of at least twelve jury- 
men. The accused, without being obliged to assign his 
motives, has the power of challenging the number which 
the law determines. 

252. The process before the jury to try, is public. The 
accused cannot be denied the assistance of counsel ; whom 
they may choose, or who are appointed officially. 

253. A person acquitted by a legal jury cannot be appre- 
hended again, or accused, for the same offence. 

Tribunal of Cassation. 

254. See constitution of 1791, on the judicial power; 
Ch. V. Art. 19. 

255. Idem, Art. 20. 

256. When after one cassation, the second judgment on 
the grounds of the case is attacked by the same means as 
the first, the question cannot be again agitated in the tri- 
bunal of cassation without being first submitted to the 
legislative body, which passes a law to which the tribunal 
of cassation is obliged to conform. 

257. Every year the tribunal of cassation is obliged to 
send to each section of the legislative body a deputation, to 
lay before it a statement of the judgments passed, with a 
notice in the margin, and the text of the law which deter- 
mined the judgment. 

258. The number of judges of the tribunal of cassation 
cannot exceed three-fourths the number of departments. 

259. This tribunal is renewed every year by one-fifth. 



198 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

The electoral assemblies of departments appoint succes- 
sively and alternately, the judges who are to succeed those 
who go out of the tribunal of cassation. 

The judges of this tribunal may be always re-elected. 

260. Every judge of the tribunal of cassation has a sup- 
plement elected by the same electoral assembly. 

261. A commissioner and substitutes appointed and re- 
moveable by the executive directory, are attached to the 
tribunal of cassation. 

262. The executive directory denounces to the tribunal of 
cassation, by means of its commissioners, and without pre- 
judice to the rights of the parties interested, the acts in 
which the judges have exceeded their powers. 

263. The tribunal annuls these acts, and if they afford 
grounds for crimination, the fact is denounced to the legis- 
lative body, which, having heard or summoned the accused, 
passes a decree of accusation. 

264. The legislative body cannot annul the judgments of 
the tribunal of cassation, but may prosecute personally the 
judges who have incurred forfeiture. 

High Court of Justice. 

265. There is a high court of justice to try accusations 
admitted by the legislative body, either against its own 
members or those of the executive directory. 

266. The high court of justice is composed of five judges 
and two national accusers taken from the tribunal of cassa- 
tion, and of high jurymen appointed by the electoral as 
semblies of departments. 

267. The high court of justice forms only in virtue of a 
proclamation of the legislative body drawn up and pub- 
lished by the council of five hundred. 

268. It forms and holds its sessions in the place desig- 
nated by the proclamation of the council of five hundred. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 199 

This place cannot be nearer than twelve myriametres to 
that where the legislative body resides. 

269. When the legislative body has proclaimed the for- 
mation of the high court of justice, the tribunal of cassa- 
tion in a public sitting, chooses by lot fifteen of its mem- 
bers : it then appoints in the same sitting, and by secret 
ballot, five out of these fifteen for judges of the high court 
of justice — the said five choosing one of their number for 
president. 

270. The tribunal of cassation appoints in the same sit- 
ting, by ballot and an absolute majority, two of its mem- 
bers to perform the functions of national accusers in the 
high court of justice. 

271. The instruments of accusation are framed and drawn 
up by the council of five hundred. 

272. The electoral assemblies of each department ap- 
point every year a juror to the high court of justice. 

273. The executive directory prints and publishes, one 
month after the elections, a list of the jurors appointed to 
the high court of justice. 

Title IX.— The Armed Force. 

274. The armed force is instituted for defending the 
state against enemies from without, and securing within, 
the maintenance of order and the execution of the laws. 

275. The public force is essentially obedient : no armed 
body can deliberate. 

276. It is divided into national guard sedentary, and 
national guard in activity. 

National Guard Sedentary. 

277. The national guard sedentary is composed of all the 
citizens and sons of citizens capable of bearing arms. 

278. Its organization and discipline are the same for the 
whole republic, and are determined by law. 



200 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

279. No Frenchman can exercise the rights of a citizen 
unless he be inscribed on the roll of the national guard 
sedentary. 

280. The distinctions of rank and subordination subsist 
only in relation to service, and during its continuance. 

281. The officers of the national guard sedentary are 
elected for a time by the citizens who compose it, and can- 
not be re-elected till after an interval. 

282. The command of the national guard of a whole 
department cannot be habitually intrusted to a single 
citizen. 

283. If it be judged necessary to assemble the whole 
national guard of a department, the executive directory 
may appoint a temporary commandant. 

284. The command of the national guard sedentary in a 
city of a hundred thousand inhabitants and above, cannot 
be habitually intrusted to one man. 

National Guard in Activity. 

285. The republic keeps in its pay, even in times of 
peace, under the name of national guard in activity, a land 
and naval army. 

286. The army is formed by voluntary enrolment, and in 
case of necessity, by the mode which the law determines. 

287. No foreigner who has not acquired the rights of 
French citizen can be admitted into the French armies, 
unless he has made one or more campaigns for the esta- 
blishment of the republic. 

288. The commanders in chief by land and sea are only 
appointed in case of war : they receive from the executive 
directory commissions revocable at pleasure. The duration 
of these commissions is limited to one campaign ; but they 
may be renewed. 

289. The general command of the armies of the republic 
cannot be confided to a single person. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 201 

290. The land and naval army is subject to particular 
laws with respect to discipline, the form of trials and the 
nature of punishments. 

291. No part of the national guard sedentary, or of the 
national guard in activity, can act on the internal service of 
the republic, except on a written requisition from the civil 
authority, in the forms prescribed by law. 

292. The public force cannot be called out by the civil 
authorities except within the limits of their territory : it 
cannot be removed from one canton to another without 
authority to that effect from the departmental administra- 
tion, or from one department to another without the orders 
of the executive directory. 

293. Nevertheless, the legislative body determines the 
means of securing, by the armed force, the execution of 
judgments and the pursuit of accused persons over the 
whole French territory. 

294. In case of imminent danger, the municipal admi- 
nistration of one canton may call out the national guard of 
the neighbouring cantons. In this case the administration 
which has made the requisition , and the chiefs of the na- 
tional guards who are called out, are alike obliged to render 
an account, at the same instant, to the departmental ad- 
ministration. 

295. No foreign troops can be introduced on the French 
territory, without the previous consent of the legislative 
body. 

Title X. — Public Instruction. 

296. Primary schools are established in the republic, in 
which the pupils learn reading, writing, the elements of 
calculation and those of morality. The republic provides 
only for the expense of the lodging of the instructors ap- 
pointed to these schools. 



202 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

297. Schools of a superior order to the primary schools 
shall be established in the different parts of the republic. 
There shall be one at least for every two departments. 

298. A national institution is established charged with 
collecting discoveries, with improving the arts and sciences. 

299. The different establishments of public instruction 
have no subordinate relation to each other, or administra- 
tive correspondence. 

300. Citizens have a right to form particular establish- 
ments of education and instruction, as well as free societies 
for promoting the progress of the sciences, letters and the 
arts. 

301. National festivals shall be established for keeping 
up fraternity among the citizens, for attaching them to the 
constitution, to their country and the laws. 

Title XI. — Finances. Contributions. 

302. TJie public contributions are deliberated upon and 
fixed every year by the legislative body, which can alone 
establish them. They cannot, unless expressly renewed, 
subsist beyond a year. 

303. The legislative body can create such kinds of con- 
tribution as it shall deem necessary; but it must every 
year levy an imposition upon land, and a personal impo- 
sition. 

304. Every individual who, not coming under the enact- 
ments of Arts. 12 and 13 of the constitution, is not included 
in the roll of direct contributions, has a right to present 
himself to the municipal administration of his commune, 
and to inscribe himself for a personal contribution equal to 
the local value of three days' agricultural labour. 

305. The enrolment mentioned in the preceding article 
can take place only in the month of Messidor every year. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 203 

306. Contributions of every kind are assessed upon those 
who contribute, in proportion to their means. 

307. The executive directory directs and watches over 
the collection and paying in of contributions, and gives the 
necessary orders for that purpose. 

308. Detailed accounts of the expenses of the ministers, 
signed and certified by them, are rendered public at the 
commencement of every year. 

The same regulation extends to the statements of the 
receipts of the different contributions, and to all public 
revenues. 

309. The statement of these expenses and receipts are 
distinguished according to their nature : they express the 
sums received and expended, year by year, in every part of 
the general administration. 

310. The accounts of expenses peculiar to the depart- 
ments and relative to the tribunals, administrations, the 
promotion of the sciences, and to all public works and 
establishments, are also made public. 

311. The administrations of department and the munici- 
palities, cannot make any assessment beyond the sums fixed 
by the legislative body, nor discuss or permit without being 
authorized by that assembly, any local loan on account of 
the citizens of the department, commune or canton. 

312. To the legislative body alone belongs the right of 
regulating the fabrication and issue of every kind of money, 
of fixing the value and weight, and determining the im- 
pression. 

313. The directory watches over the fabrication of money, 
and appoints the officers charged with the immediate exer- 
cise of that inspection. 

314. The legislative body determines the contributions of 
the colonies, and their commercial relations with the mother 
country. 



204 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

National Treasury and Accountability. 

315. There are five commissioners of the national trea- 
sury, elected by the council of ancients, from a triple list 
presented by that of five hundred. 

316. They hold their functions for five years : one of them 
is renewed every year, and may be re-elected without inter- 
val, and indefinitely. 

317. The commissioners of the treasury are charged with 
superintending the receipt of all the national money : 

With ordering the transfer of sums, and the payment of 
all public expenses consented to by the legislative body : 

With keeping an open account of expenses and receipts 
with the receiver of the direct contributions of each de- 
partment, with the different national administrations, and 
with the paymasters established in the departments. 

With keeping up with the said receivers and paymasters, 
with the governments and administrations, the necessary 
correspondence for assuring the exact and regular paying 
in of money. 

318. They cannot, under the penalty of forfeiture, make 
any payment except in virtue, 

1 . Of a decree of the legislative body, and so far as the 
funds appropriated to the object, are sufficient to meet it: 

2. Of a decision of the directory : 

3. Of the signature of the minister who orders the dis- 
bursement. 

319. They cannot moreover, under penalty of forfeiture, 
approve of any payment, unless the order signed by the minis- 
ter whom this kind of expense concerns, set forth the date 
as well of the decision of the executive directory, as of the 
decrees of the legislative body which authorize the payment, 

320. The receivers of direct contributions in every depart- 
ment, the different national administrations and paymas- 
ters in the departments, transmit their respective accounts 
to the national treasury, which verifies and passes them. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 205 

321. There are five commissioners of national ac- 
counts elected by the legislative body at the same time, and 
with the same forms and conditions, as the commissioners 
of the treasury. 

322. The general account of the receipts and expenses 
of the republic, supported by particular accounts and docu- 
ments in proof, is presented by the commissioners of the 
treasury to the commissioners of accounts, who verify and 
audit them. 

323. The commissioners of accounts give notice to the 
legislative body of the abuses, malversations, and all cases 
of responsibility, which, in the discharge of their duties, 
fall under their cognizance. They propose the measures 
suitable to the interests of the republic. 

324. The result of the accounts passed by the commis- 
sioners of accounts is printed and made public. 

325. The commissioners as well of the national treasury 
as of accounts, cannot be suspended or dismissed except by 
the legislative body. 

But during the adjournment of the legislative body the 
executive directory may suspend and provisionally replace 
the commissioners of the national treasury to the number 
of two at most, on condition of reporting such suspension 
to both councils of the legislative body as soon as they 
resume their sessions. 

Title XII. — Foreign Relations. 

326. War cannot be declared, except by a decree of the 
legislative body, on the formal and necessary proposition 
of the executive directory. 

327. The two legislative councils concur, in the usual 
forms, in the passing of decrees declaring war. 

328. In case of hostilities threatening or commenced, of 
menaces or preparations of war against the French republic, 
the executive directory is obliged to employ the means 



206 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

placed at its disposal for the defence of the state, subject 
to the duty of making the legislative body acquainted 
therewith without delay. 

It may even point out the augmentations of force, and 
such new legislative dispositions as circumstances may 
require. 

329. The directory alone can maintain political relations 
abroad, conduct negotiations, distribute the land and naval 
forces as it thinks fit, and regulate their destination in 
case of war. 

330. It is authorized to enter into preliminary stipula- 
tions, such as those of armistice and neutrality. It may 
likewise agree upon secret conventions. 

331. The executive directory concludes, signs, or causes 
to be signed with foreign powers, all treaties of peace, 
alliance, truce, neutrality, commerce, and other conventions 
which it thinks essential to the welfare of the state. 

These treaties and conventions are negotiated in the 
name of the French republic by diplomatic agents ap- 
pointed by the executive directory, and charged with its 
instructions. 

332. Where a treaty contains secret articles, the dispo- 
sitions of such articles cannot be destructive of the open 
articles, or extend to any alienation of the territory of the 
republic. 

333. Treaties are only valid after having been examined 
and ratified by the legislative body: nevertheless, the 
secret articles may receive provisional execution from the 
very moment they are agreed to by the directory. 

334. Neither of the legislative councils can deliberate 
upon war or peace, except in a general committee. 

335. Foreigners settled or not in France, succeed to their 
relations whether foreigners or Frenchmen: they may 
contract, acquire, and receive property situated in France, 
and dispose of it in the same manner as French citizens, 
by all the means allowed by the laws. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 207 

Title XIII. — Revision of the Constitution. 

336. If experience prove the inconvenience of any arti- 
cles of the constitution, the council of ancients can propose 
the revision of them. 

337. The proposition of the council of ancients is in 
this case subject to the ratification of the council of five 
hundred. 

338. When in the space of nine years, the proposition 
of the council of ancients, ratified by the council of five 
hundred, has been made at three periods, at least three 
years distant from each other, an assembly of revision is 
convoked. 

339. This assembly is composed of two members for each 
department, all elected in the same manner as the members 
of the legislative body, and possessing the same qualifica- 
tions as those required for the council of ancients. 

340. The council of ancients appoints a place, at least 
twenty myriametres distant from that where the legislative 
body sits, for the seat of the assembly of revision. 

341. The assembly of revision has a right to change the 
place of its residence, observing the distance prescribed in 
the preceding article. 

342. The assembly of revision exercises no function of 
legislation or government : it confines itself solely to the 
revision of the constitutional articles pointed out by the 
legislative body. 

343. All the articles of the constitution, without excep- 
tion, continue in vigour as long as the alterations proposed 
by the assembly of revision, are not accepted by the 
people. 

344. The members of the assembly of revision deliberate 
in common. 

345. The citizens who are members of the legislative 
body when an assembly of revision is convoked, cannot be 
elected members of this assembly. 



208 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

346. The assembly of revision addresses immediately to 
the primary assemblies the project of reform which it has 
decreed. 

It is dissolved when this project has been addressed to 
them. 

347. In no case, can the duration of the assembly of 
revision exceed three months. 

348. The members of the assembly of revision cannot 
be called to an account, accused, or tried, at any time, for 
what they have said or written in the exercise of their 
functions. 

During the continuance of their functions, they cannot 
be brought to trial, unless in pursuance of a decision of 
the members themselves of the assembly of revision. 

349. The assembly of revision attends no public cere- 
mony : its members receive the same indemnity as the 
members of the legislative body. 

350. The assembly of revision has the right of exercising 
or causing to be exercised, the police of the commune in 
which it resides. 

Title XIV. — General Dispositions. 

351. There does not exist among the citizens any other 
superiority than that of the public functionaries, and this 
is relative to the exercise of their functions. 

352. The law recognises neither religious vows, nor any 
engagement contrary to the natural rights of man. 

353. No one can be prevented from speaking, writing, 
printing, and publishing his opinions. 

Writings cannot be made subject to any censure before 
their publication. 

No one can be rendered responsible for what he has 
written or published, except in the case, provided for by 
law. 

354. No one can be hindered from exercising, in confor- 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 209 

mity to the laws, the form of religious worship he has 
chosen. 

No one can be compelled to contribute to the expenses 
of any mode of religion. The republic pays for none. 

355. There is neither privilege, right of company or 
corporation, nor any limitation to the liberty of the press, 
of commerce, nor to the exercise of industry and arts of 
any kind. 

Every prohibitory law of this nature, when circum- 
stances render it necessary, is essentially provisional, and 
has no effect beyond a year at most, unless it be formally 
renewed. 

356. The law particularly watches over the professions 
which interest public manners, the safety and health of 
citizens ; but admission to the exercise of any of these profes- 
sions cannot be made to depend on any pecuniary security. 

357. The law ought to provide a recompense for the 
authors of inventions, or for the maintenance of the exclu- 
sive property of their discoveries and productions. 

358. The constitution guarantees the inviolability of all 
possessions, or a just compensation for the property of 
which public necessity, legally attested, might require the 
sacrifice. , 

359. The house of every citizen is an inviolable asylum : ^ 
during the night no one has a right to enter it except in 
the case of fire, inundation, or a call from within. 

During the day, the orders of the constituted authorities 
may be carried into execution in it. 

No domiciliary visit can take place except in pursuance 
of a law, and for the person or object expressly designated 
in the act authorizing the visit. 

360. No corporation or association contrary to public / 
order, can be formed. 

361. No assembly of citizens can give itself the title of 
a popular society. 

Vol. I. p 



210 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

362. No particular society which concerns itself with 
political questions can correspond with any other, or affi- 
liate with it, or hold public sittings composed of members 
and auditors distinguished from each other, or impose 
conditions of admission and eligibility ; or arrogate any 
rights of exclusion, or make the members wear any exter- 
nal badge of their association 

363. Citizens cannot exercise their political rights except 
in the primary or communal assemblies. 

364. All citizens are at liberty to address petitions to 
the public authorities, but they must be individual. No 
association can present collective petitions except the con- 
stituted authorities, and these only on subjects appertaining 
to their functions. 

The petitioners must never forget the respect due to the 
constituted authorities. 

365. Every armed assemblage is an outrage against the 
constitution ; it should be immediately dispersed by force. 

366. Every assemblage not armed should be also dis- 
persed, at first by means of a verbal command, and if 
necessary, by the display of the armed force. 

367. Several constituted authorities can never meet to 
deliberate together : no act emanating from such a meeting 
can be carried into execution. 

368. No one can wear marks tending to recall functions 
antecedently exercised, or services rendered. 

369. The members of the legislative body and all public 
functionaries, in the exercise of their functions, wear the 
costume or mark of authority with which they are invested. 
The law determines the form. 

370. No citizen can renounce, either in the whole or 
part, the indemnity or provision allowed him by the law, 
on account of public functions. 

371. A uniformity of weights and measures is established 
in the republic. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 211 

372. The French sera commences on the 22d of Septem- 
ber 1792, the day of the foundation of the republic. 

373. The French nation declares that in no case will it 
suffer the return of the Frenchmen who, having abandoned 
their country since the 15th July 1789, are not included in 
the exceptions made to the laws passed against emigrants ; 
and it forbids the legislative body creating new exceptions 
upon this point. 

The possessions of the emigrants are irrevocably acquired 
to the profit of the republic. 

374. The French nation also declares, as guarantee of 
the public faith, that after an adjudication, legally com- 
pleted, of national property, whatever may have been its 
origin, the legitimate holder cannot be dispossessed of it ; 
but a person reclaiming it may, if there be grounds for it, 
be indemnified by the national treasury. 

375. None of the powers instituted by the constitution have 
a right to alter such constitution, either in the whole or any 
of its parts, saving such reforms as may be made in the way 
of revision, conformably to the dispositions of Title XIII. 

376. The citizens will constantly bear in mind that it is 
on the wisdom of their choice, in the primary and electoral 
assemblies, that the duration, preservation, and prosperity 
of the republic principally depend. 

377. The French people commit the deposit of the 
present constitution to the fidelity of the legislative body, 
of the executive directory, of administrators and judges ; 
to the vigilance of fathers of families ; to wives and 
mothers ; to the affection of young citizens, and to the 
courage of all Frenchmen. 

Address of the National Convention to the French People. — 
6 Fructidor, Year HI, (23 August, 1795.; 

Frenchmen, 

The moment is now come when after continued 

storms, you are about to fix your destiny in pronouncing 

P2 



212 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

on your constitution. Long has the country called aloud 
for a free government, capable of affording in the wisdom 
of its principles, a pledge for its permanency. Have your 
agents attained this object ? They believe it— they have 
at least ardently desired it. 

Patriots of 1789, who in the midst of revolutionary 
tumults remained pure— generous warriors, who have shed 
your blood in the service of your country — citizens, who 
love order and tranquillity — accept the pledge. The go- 
vernment which is offered for your acceptance, by giving us 
peace, can alone restore to us abundance and happiness. 

Frenchmen, citizens of all professions, of all opinions, 
rally in the cause of your country — above all, turn not your 
looks back to the point of departure. Within six years, 
ages have rolled away ; and, if the French people are tired 
I of revolutions, they are not so of liberty. You suffer, it is 
true — but it is not in creating new revolutions, but in 
finishing that which has commenced, that you can hope to 
find a period to your misfortunes. 

No. You will not impute to the republic, which hitherto 
has never been organized, the evils which, under a go- 
vernment free without licentiousness, and strong without 
despotism, cannot again recur. 

Sovereign people. Listen to the voice of your agents : 
the project of the social compact which they now offer you, 
has been dictated by the desire of your happiness. 

It is yours to attach to it your destinies : consult your 
interest and your glory, and your country is saved*. 

* The 1st. Vendemiaire, year IV, the national convention declared that 
the constitution was accepted by the French people. The return of votes 
proved that 1,057,390 citizens had given their suffrages for the constitu- 
tion, and that 49,977 had rejected it. 



213 

SUBVERSION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 1795 BY 

BONAPARTE, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF 

THE CONSULAR GOVERNMENT. 

By the constitution of 1795, which may be considered an 
amelioration of that of 1791, three powers were created. 
The council of five hundred, invested with the privilege 
of proposing laws ; the council of ancients, whose busi- 
ness it was to sanction or reject them, and the Executive 
Directory, which from its attributes, was for a time able 
to exercise so considerable an influence, that the period of 
its government is distinguished by the title of the Reign of 
the Directory. 

This act was immediately followed by two laws. That 
of the 5th Fructidor declared re-eligible the members of 
the convention then in activity : that of the 13th instructed 
the electoral assemblies to appoint at first two-thirds of the 
members that each had to furnish the legislative body, and 
to choose them, either from among the actual representa- 
tives of their departments, or from the other members of 
the convention eligible by law. 

By these means the legislative body which succeeded the 
convention, came to be formed of two-thirds of its members, 
and thus the influence of the latter assembly was bound 
to be prolonged, even after its dissolution. This was the 
object in view, and to obtain it every stratagem was re- 
sorted to by men who, having once tasted of power, could 
not endure to let it escape them. 

Tired however of a government which they thought af- 
forded them just grounds for complaint, the primary as- 
semblies of Paris declared themselves permanent, and, in 
spite of an order to separate, continued their sittings. 

The sections imitated their example, refused to acknow- 
ledge the decrees of the 5th and 13th Fructidor and 13th 
Vendemiaire, and marched in arms against the convention 



214 CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 

This body repelled force by force. At length, some days 
after, it terminated its sessions, leaving examples of vast 
conceptions and ridiculous ideas, monuments of genius and 
atrocity. 

On the following day, the legislative body met in a ge- 
neral sitting for proceeding to its division into two coun- 
cils ; and two days after, the five directors were appointed, 
being also taken from among the members of the con- 
vention. 

A good understanding could not long exist between 
bodies whose rival powers necessarily brought them into 
continual contact. On the other hand, war without and 
within, the laws of exception, of which the most part were 
yet in vigour, every thing tended to excite irritation. The 
counter-revolutionary party daily became more powerful : 
they had prevailed in several electoral sessions ; and al- 
ready was it proposed, in a secret committee of the mem- 
bers of the councils, to dissolve the directory. 

The 18th Fructidor (4th of September, 1799) arrived. A 
division had broken out between the two great powers of 
the state, and the councils extraordinarily convoked, had 
declared themselves permanent. Three of the directors at 
length took a decisive step, and ordered proscriptions and 
banishments. Two members of the directory, suspected of 
favouring the royalist party, fifty-two members of the coun- 
cils, and a great number of other individuals, were trans- 
ported to Guiana. 

It was soon found however that this measure, far from 
calming, had on the contrary only served to increase the 
disaffection. 

A change of some of the members of the directory failed 
to produce a corresponding change in the principles or 
conduct of that body ; and the springs of the political 
machine continued to clash until the aera of a new order of 
things. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1795. 215 

It was on the 18th Brumaire that General Bonaparte, 
yet covered with the dust of camps, came in the face of 
France, to attack its dearest rights. The legislative body- 
was transferred to St. Cloud. The five hundred, in the 
midst of the agitation, take a vain oath to the constitution. 
Bonaparte appears in the assembly. He wishes to speak ; 
but his voice is stifled. The tumult increases ; grenadiers 
occupy the gates, and a new form of government is dictated 
at the point of the bayonet. 

The wreck of the assembly met under the presidency of 
Lucien, brother to the General. The session was resumed: 
the directory was suppressed, and superseded by a consular 
commission composed of two ex-directors and Bonaparte 
himself. A month after, the constitution of the year 8 was 
established, which created the consular government. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC 

DECREED BY THE LEGISLATIVE COMMISSIONS OF THE TWO COUNCILS, 

AND BY THE CONSULS, 22 FRIMAIRE, YEAR 8, 

(13TH OF DECEMBER, 1799.) 



Title I. — On the exercise of the Rights of Citizenship. 

Art. 1. The French republic is one and indivisible. Its 
European territory is divided into departments and com- 
munal arrondissements. 

2. Every man born and residing in France, who being 
full twenty-one years of age, has inscribed himself on the 
civic register of his communal arrondissement, and has 
since remained during a year on the territory of the re- 
public, is a French citizen. 



216 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

3. A foreigner becomes a French citizen when, after 
having attained the age of twenty-one years complete, and 
after having declared his intention of settling in France, he 
has resided there during ten successive years. 

4. The rank of French citizen is lost ; by naturalization in 
a foreign country ; by the acceptance of functions or pen- 
sions offered by a foreign government ; by affiliation to any 
foreign corporation which supposes distinctions of birth ; 
by condemnation to corporal or infamous punishments. 

5. The exercise of the rights of French citizen is sus- 
pended ; by a state of bankruptcy, or being an immediate 
heir, and detaining gratuitously the whole or part of the 
succession of a bankrupt ; by being in the condition of a 
domestic at wages attending on the person or serving in 
the house ; by a state of judiciary interdiction, accusation 
or contumacy. 

6. To exercise the rights of citizenship in a communal 
arrondissement, it is necessary to have acquired a domicil 
therein by a year's residence, and not to have lost it by a 
year's absence. 

7. The citizens of each communal arrondissement desig- 
nate by their votes those amongst them whom they think 
the fittest to manage the public affairs. From this resul 

a confidential list containing a number of names equal to 
one-tenth the number of citizens who have the right of con- 
tributing to it. The public functionaries of the arron- 
dissement must be taken from this first communal list. 

8. The citizens comprised in the communal list of a de- 
partment designate in a similar manner a tenth amongst 
them. Hence results a second list, called departmental, 
from which must be taken the public functionaries of the 
department. 

9. The citizens placed in the departmental list designate 
In like manner a tenth of their own number ; and hence a 



CONSTITUTION OF 1799- 217 

third list is formed comprising the citizens of the depart- 
ment eligible to the national public functions. 

10. The citizens having a right to assist in the forma- 
tion of any of the lists mentioned in the three preceding 
articles, are called upon every three years, to supply the 
place of those upon the lists who may have died, or who 
are absent from any other cause than that of exercising a 
public function. 

11. They can at the same time expunge from the list, 
those whom they think unfit to be kept there, and replace 
them by other citizens in whom they have greater con- 
fidence. 

12. No one can be struck off a list except by the votes 
of an absolute majority of the citizens who have a right to 
co-operate in the formation of such list. 

13. A person is not removed from a list of eligible citi- 
zens, from this circumstance alone, that he is kept on 
another list of an inferior or superior degree. 

14. Enrolment on a list of eligible citizens is only neces- 
sary with regard to those of the public functions, for which 
this condition is expressly required by the constitution and 
by law. 

These lists shall be formed for the first time in the 
year 9. 

The citizens appointed in the first formation of the con- 
stituted authorities, shall make a necessary part of the first 
lists of eligible persons. 

Title II. — Of the Conservative Senate. 

15. The conservative senate is composed of eighty mem- 
bers, of at least forty years of age. They are irremoveable, 
and hold their offices for life. 

To form the senate, sixty members shall be at first 
chosen. This number shall be increased to sixty-two in 
the year 8 ; to sixty-four in the year 9 ; and be thus gra- 



218 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

dually raised to eighty by the addition of two members in 
each of the ten first years. 

16. The appointment to the rank of senator is vested in 
the senate, which chooses one of three candidates pre- 
sented ; the first by the legislative body, the second by the 
tribunate, and the third by the first consul. When one 
candidate is presented by two of these authorities the 
senate chooses between two only ; and it is bound to admit 
a person who is proposed at the same time by the three 
authorities. 

17. The first consul going out of office, whether through 
the expiration of his functions, or by resignation, becomes 
necessarily and of full right, a senator. 

The two other consuls, during the month which follows 
the expiration of their functions, are at liberty to take 
their seats in the senate, but are not obliged to exercise 
this right. They do not possess this right at all when they 
resign their consular functions. 

18. A senator is for ever ineligible to any other public 
function. 

19. All lists framed in the departments in pursuance of 
Art. 9. are addressed to the senate, and compose the na- 
tional list. 

20. From this list the senate elects the legislators, tri- 
bunes, consuls, judges of cassation, and commissioners of 
accounts. 

21. The senate confirms or annuls all the acts referred to 
it as unconstitutional by the tribunate or the government. 
The lists of eligibles are included in these acts. 

22. Certain revenues arising from the fixed national do- 
mains are appropriated to the expenses of the senate. The 
annual pay of each member is drawn from these revenues, 
and is equal to the twentieth part of that of the first consul. 

23. The sittings of the senate are not public. 

24. The citizens Sieyes and Roger-Ducos, consuls going 



CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 219 

out, are appointed members of the conservative senate. 
These, united with the second and third consuls appointed 
by the present constitution, shall choose a majority of the 
senate, which afterwards completes itself and proceeds to 
the elections with which it is intrusted. 

Title III. — Of the Legislative Power. 

25. No new law shall be promulgated until the project 
shall have been proposed by the government, communicated 
to the tribunate, and decreed by the legislative body. 

26. The projects which are proposed by the government 
are reduced into articles. The government can withdraw 
them in any stage of the discussion. It can also modify, 
and again bring them forward. 

27. The tribunate is composed of one hundred members, 
who must be at least twenty-five years of age. They are 
renewed by a fifth every year, and are indefinitely re-eligible 
as long as they remain on the national list. 

28. The tribunate discusses the projects of laws, and votes 
their adoption or rejection. It commissions three of its 
members, as orators, to explain and defend before the le- 
gislative body the grounds on which the opinions it has 
expressed relative to the said projects are founded. It 
refers to the senate the lists of eligibles, the acts of the le- 
gislative body, and those of the government, when such 
lists or acts are unconstitutional ; and in this case only. 

29. It expresses its wishes on laws passed and passing, 
on the abuses that require correction, on the ameliorations 
called for in any part of the public administration ; but 
never on civil or criminal affairs carried before the tri- 
bunals. 

The wishes which it expresses in virtue of the present 
article have no necessary consequence, and do not oblige 
any constituted authority to take them into consideration. 

30. When the tribunate adjourns, it may appoint a com- 



220 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

mission of ten to fifteen members, charged with convoking' 
it when they think it expedient. 

31. The legislative body is composed of three hundred 
members, at least thirty years of age. They are renewed 
by a fifth every year. One citizen at least from every de- 
partment in the republic must have a seat therein. 

32. A member going out of the legislative body cannot 
re-enter until after the expiration of a year's interval ; but 
he may be immediately elected to any other public function, 
including that of tribune, if in other respects eligible. 

33. The session of the legislative body commences every 
year the 1 frimaire (22 of November), and continues only 
four months. It may be extraordinarily convoked by the 
government during the eight remaining months. 

34. The legislative body enacts laws by secret ballot, 
on the projects which are debated before it by the orators 
of the tribunate and the government, without any discussion 
on the part of its own members. 

35. The sittings of the tribunate, and those of the legis- 
lative body, are public : the number of strangers at either 
cannot exceed two hundred. 

36. The annual pay of a tribune is fifteen thousand francs ; 
that of a legislator, ten thousand. 

37. Every decree of the legislative body is promulgated 
by the first consul the tenth day after its adoption, unless 
during that interval appeal be made to the senate on the 
ground of unconstitutionality. When a law is promulgated 
this appeal cannot be made. 

38. The first renewal of the legislative body and the tri- 
bunate shall not take place until in the course of the year 
10. 

Title IV. — Of the Government. 

39. The government is intrusted to three consuls, ap- 
pointed for ten years, and indefinitely re-eligible. Each of 



CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 221 

them is elected individually with the distinct titles of first, 
second, and third consul. 

The constitution appoints the citizen Bonaparte, ex- 
consul provisionally, first consul ; the citizen Cambaceres, 
ex-minister of justice, second consul ; and the citizen Le- 
brun, ex- member of the commission of the council of an- 
cients, third consul. 

For this time, the third consul is appointed for five years 
only. 

40. The first consul has functions and attributes peculiar 
to himself; in which, when occasion requires, his place is 
supplied by one of his colleagues. 

41. The first consul promulgates laws: he appoints and 
discharges at will the members of the council of state, the 
ministers, ambassadors and other external agents in chief, 
the officers of the land and naval forces, the members of 
the local administrations, and the government commission- 
ers in the tribunals. With the exception of judges of the 
peace, and judges of cassation, he appoints all the criminal 
and civil judges, but without the power of discharging 
them. 

42. In the other acts of government the second and third 
consuls have a deliberative voice : they sign the minutes of 
these proceedings, to attest their presence; and if they 
please, add thereto their opinions ; after which the decision 
of the first consul is sufficient. 

43. The salary of the first consul shall be five hundred 
thousand francs for the year 8. That of each of the other 
consuls is equal to three-tenths the sum assigned to the 
first consul. 

44. The government proposes laws, and makes the re- 
gulations necessary to assure their execution. 

45. The government directs the receipts and expenses of 
the state, conformably to the annual law which determines 
the amount of both. It superintends the coining of money, 



222 * CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

of which the law alone ordains the issue, fixes the title, 
weight and impression . 

46. When the government is apprized of a conspiracy- 
plotting against the state, it may issue summons of ap- 
pearance, and warrants of arrest against the persons who 
are presumed authors or accomplices ; but if within ten 
days after their arrest, they are not set at liberty or 
placed in a regular course of justice, the minister who has 
signed the warrant, renders himself responsible for the 
crime of arbitrary detention. 

47. The government provides for the internal security 
and external defence of the state : It distributes the land 
and naval forces, and regulates their destination. 

48. The national guard in activity is subject to the regu- 
lations of the public administration. The national guard 
sedentary is subject to the lav/ only. 

49. The government maintains political relations with- 
out, conducts negotiations, makes preliminary stipulations, 
signs, causes to be signed and concludes all treaties of 
peace, alliance, truce, neutrality, commerce, and other 
conventions. 

50. Declarations of war and treaties of peace, alliance 
and commerce, are proposed, discussed, decreed and pro- 
mulgated like laws. Only the discussions and deliberations 
on these subjects, as well in the tribunate as in the legisla- 
tive body, are carried on, when the government requires it, 
in a secret committee. 

51. The secret articles of a treaty cannot be destructive 
of the public articles. 

52. The council of state, under the direction of the con- 
suls, is charged with framing the projects of laws and re- 
gulations of public administrations, and with resolving 
such difficulties as arise in administrative matters. 

53. The orators commissioned to speak in the name of 
the government before the legislative body, are always 



CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 223 

taken from among the members of the council of state. 
More than three are never commissioned to defend the 
same project of law. 

54. The ministers procure the execution of the laws, as 
well as that of the regulations of public administration. 

55. No act of government can be held valid unless it is 
signed by a minister. 

56. One of the ministers is particularly charged with the 
administration of the public treasure. He secures the re- 
ceipts, orders the transfer of sums, and the payments 
authorized by law. He can make no payment unless in 
pursuance, 1. Of a law, and so far as the funds destined 
by it to meet a particular kind of expense contribute 
thereto ; 2. Of a decree of the government ; 3. Of an order 
signed by a minister. 

51. The detailed accounts of the expenses of each minis- 
ter, signed and certified by him, are rendered public. 

58. The government cannot elect or employ as counsel- 
lors of state or ministers, any other than citizens whose 
names are found inscribed on the national list. 

59. The local administrations established for each com- 
munal arrondissement, or for more considerable portions 
of territory, are subordinate to the ministers. No one can 
become, or remain a member of these administrations, un- 
less he stand and be retained upon one of the lists men- 
tioned in articles 7 and 8. 

Title V.— Of the Tribunals. 

60. Each communal arrondissement has one or more 
judges of the peace, elected immediately by the citizens for 
a period of three years. Their principal function consists 
in reconciling parties, and in inviting them, in case of non- 
reconciliation, to refer their disputes to arbitrators. 

61. In civil matters there are tribunals of the first resort, 
and tribunals of appeal. The law determines the organi- 



224 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

zation of both, their competency, and the territory forming 
the jurisdiction of each. 

62. In the case of offences subject to corporal or ignomi- 
nious punishment, a first jury admits or throws out the 
charge : if admitted, a second jury takes cognizance of the 
fact; and the judges, forming a criminal tribunal, apply 
the penalty. Their judgment is without appeal. 

63. The office of public accuser in a criminal tribunal is 
filled by the government commissioner. 

64. Offences which do not incur corporal or ignominious 
punishment are tried by the tribunals of correctional po- 
lice, saving appeal to the criminal tribunals. 

65. There is for the whole republic one tribunal of cassa- 
tion, which pronounces on petitions for quashing judgments 
rendered in the last resort by the tribunals ; on petitions 
for removing a cause from one tribunal to another, on ac- 
count of lawful suspicion or of the public safety, and on 
exceptions to a whole tribunal. 

66. The tribunal of cassation does not take cognizance 
of the merits of causes, but it breaks the judgments ren- 
dered on proceedings in which the forms have been violated, 
or which contain express contraventions of the law ; and it 
returns the grounds of the action to the tribunal to which 
cognizance of it belongs. 

67. The judges composing the tribunals of first resort, 
and the commissioners of government attached to the tri- 
bunals, are chosen from the communal or from the depart- 
mental list. 

The judges composing the tribunals of appeal and the 
commissioners attached to them, are chosen from the de- 
partmental list. 

The judges composing the tribunal of cassation and the 
commissioners attached to this tribunal, are chosen from 
the national list. 

68. With the exception of judges of the peace, all the 



CONSTITUTION OP 1799. 225 

judges hold their offices for life, unless they are pronounced 
to have forfeited them, or are erased from the list of 
eligibles. 

Title VI. — Of the Responsibility of Public Functionaries. 

69. The functions of members either of the senate, of 
the legislative body, or of the tribunate ; those of the con- 
suls and counsellors of state, do not give rise to any re- 
sponsibility. 

70. Personal offences incurring corporal or infamous 
punishment committed by a member of the senate, of the 
tribunate, of the legislative body, or of the council of state, 
are prosecuted before the ordinary tribunals, after a reso- 
lution of the body to which the accused belongs, shall have 
authorized such prosecution. 

71. Ministers charged with offences of a private nature 
subject to corporal or ignominious punishment, are con- 
sidered as members of the council of state. 

72. The ministers are responsible, 1. For every act of 
government signed by them which is declared unconstitu- 
tional by the senate ; 2. For the non-execution of laws, and 
regulations of public administration ; 3. For the particular 
orders which they have given, when such orders are con- 
trary to the constitution, to the laws and regulations. 

73. Under the circumstances mentioned in the preceding 
article, the tribunate denounces the minister by an act, on 
which the legislative body deliberates in the ordinary forms, 
after having heard or summoned before them the person 
denounced. The minister, put on his trial by a decree of 
the legislative body, is tried by a high court, without ap- 
peal, and without recourse to cassation. 

The high court is composed of judges and jurymen. The 
judges are chosen by the tribunal of cassation, and from 
its own members; the jurymen are taken from the na- 

VOL. I. Q 



226 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

tional list: the whole according to the forms prescribed 
by law. 

74. Civil and criminal judges are prosecuted for offences 
relating to their functions, before the tribunals to which 
the court of cassation returns them, after having annulled 
their acts. 

75. The agents of government, with the exception of the 
ministers, cannot be prosecuted for acts relating to their 
functions, unless in virtue of a decision of the council of 
state : in this case the prosecution is carried on before the 
ordinary tribunals. 

Title VII. — General Dispositions. 

76. The house of every person inhabiting the French 
territory is an inviolable asylum. During the night no one 
has a right to enter therein unless in the case of fire, inun- 
dation or call from the interior of the house. During the 
day it may be entered for a special object, determined 
either by a law, or by an order emanating from a public 
authority. 

77. To render an instrument which orders the arrest of 
a person valid, it is necessary, 1 . That it formally state the 
motives for such arrest, and the law in execution of which 
it is ordered ; 2. That it emanate from a functionary to 
whom the law has formally assigned the power ; 3. That it 
be notified to the person arrested, and a copy of it left with 
him. 

78. A keeper or gaoler cannot receive or detain any per- 
son until he has transcribed on his register the instrument 
which orders the arrest : this instrument must be an order 
issued according to the forms prescribed by the preceding 
article, an order for the apprehension of his person, a de- 
cree of accusation, or a judgment. 

79. Every keeper or gaoler is obliged, and no order shall 
exempt him from it, to produce the person of the detained, 



CONSTITUTION OP 1799. 227 

to the civil officer having the police of the house of deten- 
tion, as often as it shall be required of him. 

80. The sight of the prisoner cannot be refused his rela- 
tions and friends bearing an order from the civil officer, 
who shall be always obliged to grant it, unless the keeper 
or gaoler produces an order of the judge for keeping the 
said person secret. 

81. Everyman, except those who have received from law 
the power of causing arrest, who shall give, sign, or exe- 
cute the arrest of any person whatever ; or whoever, even 
in the cases of arrest authorized by law, shall receive or 
detain the person arrested in a place of detention not pub- 
licly and legally designated as such, and all keepers and 
gaolers who act in contravention to the regulations of the 
three preceding articles, shall be deemed guilty of the crime 
of arbitrary detention. 

82. All severities exercised in arrests, detentions and 
executions, except such as are authorized by the laws, are 
crimes. 

83. Every person has a right to address individual peti- 
tions to every constituted authority, and particularly to the 
tribunate. 

84. The public force is essentially obedient : no armed 
body can deliberate. 

85. The offences of the military are subject to special 
tribunals and to particular forms of trial. 

86. The French nation declares that pensions shall be 
granted to all military persons wounded in defence of their 
country, as well as to the widows and children of those who 
have perished on the field of battle, or died in consequence 
of their wounds. 

87. National rewards shall be decreed the warriors who 
have performed brilliant services in fighting for the re- 
public. 

88. A national institute is charged with collecting dis- 

Q 2 



228 CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 

coveries, with bringing to perfection the sciences and the 
arts. 

89. A commission of national accounts regulates and 
verifies the accounts of the receipts and expenses of the 
republic. This commission is composed of seven members 
chosen by the senate from the national list. 

90. A constituted body cannot come to a resolution un- 
less at least two-thirds of its members are present. 

91. The government of the French colonies is determined 
by particular laws. 

92. In the case of an armed revolt, or of troubles which 
threaten the safety of the state, the law can suspend, in 
such places and for such time as it may determine, the em- 
pire of the constitution. This suspension, under the same 
circumstances, may be provisionally declared by a decree of 
the government during the vacation of the legislative body, 
provided that body be convoked within the shortest term 
possible by an article of the same decree. 

93. The French nation declares that it will not, under 
any circumstances, permit the return of the Frenchmen, 
who, having abandoned their country since the 14th July 
1789, are not included in the exceptions made to the laws 
enacted against emigrants : and it forbids any new excep- 
tion on this subject. 

94. The French nation declares that after a sale of na- 
tional property, legally completed, whatever be the origin 
of such property, the legitimate purchaser cannot be dis- 
possessed, except where a third party (if such case should 
occur) puts in a claim of indemnity from the public trea- 
sury. 

95. The present constitution shall be immediately offered 
to the acceptance of the French people. 

Done at Paris the 22 Frimaire, 8th year of the French 
republic, one and indivisible. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1799. 229 

PROCLAMATION OF THE CONSULS OF THE 
REPUBLIC. 

14 Frimaire, Year 8th. (15 December 1799.) 

The Consuls of the Republic to the French. 

A constitution is presented to you. 

It terminates the uncertainty which the provisional 
government occasioned in external relations, and in the 
internal and military situation of the republic. 

It places in the institutions which it establishes, the first 
magistrates whose devotion appeared necessary to its ac- 
tivity. 

The constitution is founded on the true principles of re- 
presentative government, on the sacred rights of property, 
equality and liberty. 

The powers which it institutes shall be strong and per- 
manent, such as they ought to be for guaranteeing the 
rights of citizens and the interests of the state. 

Citizens ! the revolution is fixed on the principles which 
commenced it : It is finished. 

Roger-Ducos, Bonaparte, Sieyes. 



PROCLAMATION OF THE CONSULS ON THE ACCEPT- 
ANCE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

18 Pluviose, Year S. (7 Feb. 1800.) 

The Consuls of the Republic, in conformity with the fifth 
article of the law of 23 Frimaire, determining the manner 
in which the constitution shall be presented to the French 
people, after having heard the report of the ministers of 
justice, of the interior, of war and the marine, 

Proclaim the result of the votes given by the French citi- 
zens on the constitutional act. 



230 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

Of three millions twelve thousand five hundred and sixty- 
nine voters, fifteen hundred and sixty-two have rejected, 
three millions eleven thousand and seven accepted the 
constitution. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF THE 
CONSTITUTION. 

16 Thermidor, Year 10. (4 August 1802.) 

Title I. 

Art. 1. Every jurisdiction of a judge of the peace has a 
cantonal assembly. 

2. Every communal arrondissement or district compos- 
ing a sub-prefecture, has an electoral college of arron- 
dissement. 

3. Every department has an electoral college of depart- 
ment. 

Title II. — Of the Cantonal Assemblies. 

4. The assembly of a canton is composed of all the citi- 
zens domiciliated in the canton, and enrolled therein on the 
communal list of arrondissement. 

From and after the period when, by the terms of the con- 
stitution, the communal lists are to be renewed, the can- 
tonal assembly shall be composed of all the citizens domi- 
ciliated in the canton and enjoying there the rights of citi- 
zenship. 

5. The first consul appoints the president of the cantonal 
assembly. He holds his office five years, and is always re- 
eligible. He is assisted by four scrutators, of whom two are 
the most aged, and the other two the heaviest taxed, of the 
citizens having a right to vote in the cantonal assembly. The 
president and the four scrutators appoint the secretary. 



S1NATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 231 

6. The cantonal assembly is divided into sections for 
transacting the business which belongs to it. At the first 
convocation of every assembly, the organization and forms 
thereof shall be determined by a regulation issued by the 
government. 

7. The president of the cantonal assembly appoints the 
presidents of the sections. Their functions terminate with 
each sectionary assembly. They are assisted each by two 
scrutators, of whom one is the most aged, and the other the 
heaviest taxed, of the citizens having a right to vote in the 
section. 

8. The cantonal assembly nominates two citizens, from 
whom the first consul chooses the judge of the peace for the 
canton. It nominates in like manner two citizens for each 
vacant place of supplement of judge of the peace. 

9. The judges of the peace and their supplements are 
appointed for ten years. 

10. In cities of 5000 souls, the cantonal assembly presents 
two citizens for each place in the municipal council. In 
cities where there are several judges of the peace or several 
cantonal assemblies, each assembly shall in like manner 
present two citizens for each place in the municipal council. 

1 1 . The members of municipal councils are chosen from 
each cantonal assembly from a list of a hundred persons, the 
heaviest taxed in the canton. This list shall be decreed and 
printed by order of the prefect. 

12. The municipal councils are renewed every ten years 
by one half. 

13. The first consul chooses the mayors and assistants in 
the municipal councils : they are five years in office, and 
may be re-appointed. 

14. The cantonal assembly appoints to the electoral col- 
lege of arrondissement, the number of members which is 
assigned to it, in proportion to the number of citizens of 
which it is composed. 



232 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

15. It appoints to the electoral college of department, 
from a list of which mention will be made hereafter, the 
number of members assigned to it. 

16. The members of the electoral colleges must be domi- 
ciliated in the respective arrondissements and departments. 

17. The government convokes the cantonal assemblies, 
fixes the time of their sitting, and the object of their 
meeting. 

Title III.— Electoral Colleges. 

18. The electoral colleges of arrondissement have a mem- 
ber for every 500 inhabitants domiciliated in the arrondisse- 
ment. The number of members however cannot exceed 
200, nor be less than 120. 

19. The electoral colleges of department have one mem- 
ber for every thousand inhabitants domiciliated in the de- 
partment. These members however cannot exceed 300, nor 
be less than 200 in number. 

20. The members of the electoral colleges are for life. 

21. If a member of an electoral college be denounced to 
the government, as having permitted any act contrary to the 
dictates of honour or the interests of his country, the go- 
vernment invites the college to express its wishes on the 
subject. A majority of three-fourths is necessary to exclude 
the denounced member from his seat in the college. 

22. A place in the electoral colleges is lost for the same 
causes which subject a person to the loss of his rights of 
citizenship. It is equally lost when, without legal impedi- 
ment, a member shall not have been present at three suc- 
cessive meetings. 

23. The first consul appoints the presidents of the electo- 
ral colleges at each session. The president has alone the 
police of the electoral college when assembled. 

24. The electoral colleges, at each session, appoint two 
scrutators and a secretary. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 233 

25. For forming the electoral colleges of department, there 
shall be prepared in each department, under the orders of 
the minister of finance, a list of 600 citizens, the heaviest 
assessed on the rolls of the land-tax, the tax on moveables, 
the tax on luxury, and the tax on licenses. To the amount 
of the contribution in the domicil of the department, is 
added that which can be proved paid in other parts of the 
territory of France and its colonies. This list shall be 
printed. 

26. The cantonal assembly chooses from this list the 
members it has to appoint to the electoral college of the 
department. 

27. The first consul may add to the electoral colleges of 
arrondissement ten members, chosen either from among the 
citizens belonging to the legion of honour, or from such as 
have rendered services. He may add to each electoral col- 
lege of department twenty citizens ; ten being taken from 
the thirty heaviest taxed persons of the department, and 
ten being members of the legion of honour, or citizens who 
have rendered services. The first consul is not subject, with 
respect to these nominations, to any determinate periods of 
time. 

28. The electoral colleges of arrondissement, present to 
the first consul two citizens domiciliated in the arrondisse- 
ment, for every vacancy in their council. Of these two 
citizens one at least must not be a member of the electoral 
college which nominates him. The councils of arrondisse- 
ment are renewed every five years by one-third. 

29. The electoral colleges of arrondissement at every 
meeting, present two citizens for forming part of the list 
from which the members of the tribunate are to be chosen. 
One, at least, of these citizens must not be a member of the 
college which presents him. Both may be chosen from 
without the limits of the department. 

30. The electoral colleges of department present to the 



234 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

first consul two citizens, domiciliated in the department, for 
each vacant place in the general council of the department. 
One, at least, of these citizens must not be a member of the 
college which presents him. The general councils of de- 
partment are renewed by a third every five years. 

31 . The electoral colleges of department, at each meeting, 
present two citizens for forming the list from which the 
members of the senate are appointed. One, at least, must 
be taken from without the college which presents him, and 
both may be taken out of the limits of the department. 
They must have the age and qualifications required by the 
constitution. 

32. The electoral colleges of department and arrondisse- 
ment present each two citizens domiciliated in the depart- 
ment, towards forming the list from which the members of 
the deputation to the legislative body are to be appointed. 
One of these citizens cannot be a member of the college 
which presents him. There must be three times as many 
different candidates on the list formed by the united presen- 
tations of the electoral colleges of department and of arron- 
dissement, as there are vacant places. 

33. The same person may be member of a communal 
council, and of an electoral college of arrondissement or of 
department. He may be at the same time member of a 
college of arrondissement and of a college of department. 

34. The members of the legislative body and tribunate 
cannot be present at the sittings of the electoral college to 
which they belong. All other public functionaries have a 
right to be present and give their votes therein. 

35. No cantonal assembly can proceed to fill up vacancies 
in an electoral college, before the places in its appointment, 
are reduced to two-thirds. 

36. The electoral colleges do not assemble except in pur- 
suance of an act of convocation issued by the government, 
and in such place as is assigned them. They can engage in 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 235 

no other business than that for which they are convoked, or 
continue their session beyond the time fixed by the act of 
convocation. If they transgress these bounds, the govern- 
ment has a right to dissolve them. 

37. The electoral colleges cannot, either directly or indi- 
rectly, under any pretence whatever, correspond with each 

other. 

38. The dissolution of an electoral body leads to the re- 
newal of all its members. 

Title IV.— Of the Consuls. 

39. The consuls are for life. They are members of the 
senate and preside over it. 

40. The second and third consuls are appointed by the 
senate, on the presentation of the first. 

41. For this purpose, when one of the two places falls 
vacant, the first consul presents to the senate a first subject. 
If not appointed, he presents a second. If the second be 
not accepted, he presents a third, who is necessarily ap- 
pointed. 

42. When the first consul thinks fit, he presents a citizen 
to succeed him at his death, in the forms laid down in the 
preceding article. 

43. The citizen appointed to succeed the first consul takes 
an oath to the republic, which is administered by the first 
consul, assisted by the second and third consuls, and in the 
presence of the senate, the ministers, the council of state, 
the legislative body, the tribunate, the tribunal of cassa- 
tion, the archbishops, bishops, the presidents of the tribu- 
nals of appeal, the presidents of electoral colleges, the pre- 
sidents of the cantonal assemblies, the great officers of the 
legion of honour, and the mayors of the twenty-four chief 
towns of the republic. 

The secretary of state draws up the proces-verbal of the 
administration of the oath. 



236 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

44. It is conceived in the following terms : — 

" I swear to maintain the constitution, to respect liberty 
" of conscience, to oppose the revival of feudal institutions, 
" never to wage war unless for the defence and glory of the 
" republic, and to employ the power with which I shall be 
" invested, solely for the happiness of the people of whom, 
" and for whom, I shall have received it." 

45. The oath being administered, he takes his seat in the 
senate, immediately after the third consul. 

46. The first consul may deposit in the archives of the 
government, his wish as to the nomination of his successor, 
to be presented to the senate after his death. 

47. In this case he calls the second and third consuls, the 
ministers and the presidents of the sections of the council 
of state. In their presence, he commits to the secretary of 
state the document, sealed with his seal, in which his wish 
is recorded. This paper is subscribed by all those who are 
present at the transaction. The secretary of state in pre- 
sence of the ministers and presidents of the sections of the 
council of state, deposits it among the archives of the 
government. 

48. The first consul may withdraw the document thus de- 
posited, observing the formalities laid down in the preced- 
ing article. 

49. After his death, should the instrument containing his 
wish, be still in deposit, it is withdrawn from the archives 
of the government by the secretary of state, in the presence 
of the ministers and presidents of the sections of the coun- 
cil of state ; its authenticity and identity being proved in the 
presence of the second and third consuls. It is addressed to 
the senate by a message from the government, with a copy 
of the proces-verbaux attesting its deposit, identity and 
authenticity. 

50. If the person presented by the first consul be not ap- 
pointed, the second and third consuls each present one : in 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 237 

case of no appointment being made, they each present ano- 
ther, and one of these two is necessarily appointed. 

51. If the first consul leave no presentation, the second 
and third consuls respectively, make their first and second 
presentations, and if neither be appointed, a third. The 
senate necessarily appoints on the third presentation. 

52. In every case, the presentations and appointment 
must be completed within twenty-four hours after the death 
of the first consul. 

53. The law fixes the estimate of the expenses of govern- 
ment for the life of every first consul. 

Title V.— Of 'the Senate. 

54. The senate regulates by a senaius-consultum organic, 
1st. The constitution of the colonies ; 2d. Every thing which 
has not been provided for by the constitution, and which 
is necessary to its progress ; 3d. It explains such articles 
of the constitution as give rise to different interpretations. 

55. The senate, by acts entitled senatus-consulta, 1st. Sus- 
pends for five years the functions of jurymen in depart- 
ments where this measure is necessary ; 2d. Proclaims, 
when circumstances require it, certain departments out of 
the protection of the constitution ; 3d. Determines the 
period within which individuals arrested in virtue of Ar- 
ticle 46 of the constitution, must be brought before the 
tribunals, when this has not been done within ten days 
after their arrest ; 4th. Annuls the judgments of tribunals, 
when such judgments are calculated to endanger the safety 
of the state; 5th. Dissolves the legislative body and tri- 
bunate ; 6th. Appoints the consuls. 

56. Senatus-consulta organic, and senatus-consulta are de- 
liberated upon by the senate, on the initiative of the govern- 
ment. A senatus-consultum is passed by a simple majo- 
rity ; but for a senatus-consultum organic, a majority of 
two-thirds the members present is requisite. 



238 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

57. The project of a senatus-consultum framed in pur- 
suance of Art. 54 and 55, is discussed in a privy council 
composed of the consuls, two ministers, two senators, two 
counsellors of state, and two great officers of the legion 
of honour. The first consul appoints at each meeting the 
members who are to compose the privy council. 

58. The first consul ratifies treaties of peace and alliance, 
after having taken the advice of the privy council. Before 
promulgating, he communicates them to the senate. 

59. The act of nomination of a member of the legislative 
body, of the tribunate and of the tribunal of cassation, is 
entifled arrete. 

60. The acts of the senate relative to its police and 
internal administration, are entitled deliberations. 

61. In course of the year 11, fourteen citizens shall be 
nominated to complete the number of eighty senators 
determined by Art. 15 of the constitution. This nomina- 
tion shall be made by the senate, on the presentation of 
the first consul ; who, for this presentation, and for the 
ulterior presentations in the number of eighty, shall select 
three persons from the list of the citizens designated by 
the electoral colleges. 

62. The members of the great council of the legion 
of honour, whatever be their age, are members of the senate. 

63. The first consul, moreover, may appoint to the 
senate, without any previous presentation by the elec- 
toral colleges of department, citizens distinguished for 
their services and talents ; on condition, however, that 
they have attained the age required by the constitution, 
and that the number of senators shall not, in any case, 
exceed one hundred and twenty. 

64. The senators are eligible as consuls, ministers, 
members of the legion of honour, inspectors of public 
instruction, and may be employed in extraordinary and 
temporary missions. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 239 

65. The senate every year appoints two of its members 
^0 discharge the functions of secretaries. 

66. The ministers have a seat in the senate, but unless 
senators, have no deliberative voice. 

Title VI. — Of the Counsellors of State. 

67. The council of state shall never exceed fifty in 
number. 

68. The council of state is divided into sections. 

69. The ministers have rank, a seat, and a deliberative 
voice in the council of state. 

Title VII. — Of the Legislative Body. 

70. Each department shall have in the legislative body a 
number of members proportioned to the extent of its 
population, conformably to the table annexed to the present 
senatus-consultum. 

71. All the members of the legislative body belonging to 
the same deputation, are appointed at the same time. 

72. The departments of the republic are divided into 
five series, conformably to the table annexed to the present 
senatus-consultum *. 

73. The deputies now composing the legislative body are 
classed in the five series. 

74. They shall be renewed in the year to which the 
series, including the department to which they are at- 
tached, shall be referred. 

75. Nevertheless, the deputies appointed in the year 10, 
shall complete their five years. 

76. The government convokes, adjourns, and prorogues 
the legislative body. 

* See the general table of the number of deputies, according- to the 
different constitutions, printed at the end of the law on elections of 
29 June, 1820. 



240 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 

Title VIIL— Of the Tribunate. 

77. From and after the year 13, the tribunate shall be 
reduced to fifty members. One half of the fifty reduced, 
shall go out every three years ; and, until this reduction 
be completed the members going out shall not be replaced. 
The tribunate is divided into sections. 

78. The legislative body and the tribunate are wholly 
renewed when the senate pronounces their dissolution. 

Title IX. — Of Justice and the Tribunals. 

79. There is a grand judge minister of justice. 

80. He has a distinguished place in the senate and in 
the council of state. 

81. He presides in the tribunal of cassation, and in the 
tribunals of appeal, when the government thinks proper. 

82. He has over the tribunals, courts of jurisdiction of 
the peace, and the members composing them, the right of 
watching over and reprimanding them. 

83. The tribunal of cassation when the grand judge pre- 
sides over it, has the right of censure and discipline over 
the tribunals of appeal and the criminal tribunals : it may, 
upon weighty occasions, suspend the judges from their 
functions, and order them before the grand judge, to 
render to him an account of their conduct. 

84. The tribunals of appeal have the right of superin- 
tendence over the civil tribunals within their jurisdiction, 
and the civil tribunals over the judges of the peace within 
their arrondissement. 

85. The commissioner of government in the tribunal of 
cassation watches over the commissioners in the tribunals 
of appeal and the criminal tribunals. The commissioners 
in the tribunals of appeal watch over the commissioners in 
the tribunals of the first instance. 

86. The members of the tribunal of cassation are ap- 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 241 

pointed by the senate, on the presentation of the first 
consul. The first consul presents three candidates for each 
vacant place. 

Title X. — Right of Pardoning. 

87. The first consul has the right of granting pardon. 
He exercises it after having heard a privy council com 
posed of the grand judge, two ministers, two senators, two 
counsellors of state, and two members of the tribunal of 
cassation. 

The present senatus-consultum shall be transmitted, by 
message, to the consuls of the republic. 



Vol. I K 



242 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. 



The consular government augmented the power, and 
diminished the liberty of the nation. Was this system 
introduced solely with the view of preventing the disorders 
which had arisen from the too democratical character of 
the institutions hitherto established ? This may be doubted ; 
and the man under whose influence the constitution was 
framed, is well enough known to justify the opinion that 
his thoughts were less directed to the suppression of anarchy 
than the establishment of despotism. In fine, whether he 
had already conceived the designs which he afterwards 
executed, or the desire of augmenting his power kept pace 
with its increase, he now advanced with rapid strides to 
the imperial throne. 

For the attainment of his object, Bonaparte employed 
seduction and violence by turns. He permitted the sena- 
tors to accumulate different employments ; and, when that 
body opposed his measures, which, as we well know, was 
but rarely the case, he contrived an appeal to the people, 
whose suffrages he knew how to manage. Such, for 
example, was the course he adopted to get himself ap- 
pointed consul for life, in the month of Fructidor, 
year 10. 

This first step was followed by new attempts equally 
happy ; and, on the 16th Thermidor, year 10, (4th of Au- 
gust, 1802,) appeared a senatus-consultum organic, which 
modified or rather changed the constitution. Of this, it is 
sufficient to observe, that the constitution did not confer 
on the senate the right which it assumed of every day 
establishing new constitutional ordinances ; and that this 
distinction of senatus-consulta organic ,and senatus-consulta, 
was established by this identical senatus-consultum of the 
16th Thermidor. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1802. 243 

This privilege of the senate was an instrument of which 
Napoleon well knew how to avail himself. It was not 
enough for him to make a frequent use of it ; he abused it, 
and extended it beyond all measure. To be convinced of this 
we have only to refer to Art. 54 of the senatus-consultum 
organic of 1802. By the terms of that article, the senate, 
by senatus-consulta organic was only authorized to regulate 
what had not been provided for by the constitution, and was 
necessary to its progress, and to explain such articles of the 
constitution as should give rise to different interpretations. 
But, did the senate regulate what had not been provided 
for by the constitution, or explain its obscure articles, 
when, by the senatus-consultum of the 28th Floreal, 
year 12, it substituted the monarchical for the consular 
government ? 

From that period indeed even the forms of liberty were 
no longer preserved. The appointments of the electoral 
colleges were ruled by the government, and the caprices of 
the emperor were indiscriminately sanctioned. It has been 
said that the number of those who voted in the senate 
against the orders of their master, never exceeded fourteen*. 
The tribunate, however, still subsisted. This institution 
was found too liberal ; and a senatus-consultum of the 
19th of August 1807, suppressed it. Three commissions 
formed in the legislative body were alone invested with 
the privilege of discussing laws in secret ; and finally, by a 
fresh innovation, the age of forty years complete was 
required to render a person eligible to the legislative 
body. 

It would be useless here to retrace the series of arbitrary 
and despotic acts by which the French nation was reduced 
to the most ignominious servitude. Of late, every thing 
was regulated in a sovereign manner by imperial decrees. 

* M. Lanjuinais 

R 2 



244 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

The victories of Napoleon greatly contributed to make 
his despotism supportable. The French nation suffers 
itself to be easily seduced by the eclat of military glory. 
The excesses of the Revolution, also, had disposed it to 
submit to the yoke, and Napoleon knew too well how to 
profit of the fear which anarchy inspired, to effect the 
destruction of liberty. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC. 

28 Flore al, Year XII, (18 May, 1804). 

Title First. 

Art. 1. The government of the republic is intrusted to 
an emperor, who takes the title of Emperor of the French. 

Justice is administered in the name of the emperor, by 
officers whom he appoints. 

2. Napoleon Bonaparte, now first consul of the republic, 
is Emperor of the French* 

Title II. — Of the Succession to the Throne. 

3. The imperial dignity is hereditary in the direct, na- 
tural, and legitimate descent of Napoleon Bonaparte, from 
male to male, in the order of primogeniture, and to the 
perpetual exclusion of females and their descendants. 

4. Napoleon Bonaparte may adopt the children or grand 
children of his brothers, provided they have attained the 
age of eighteen years complete, and that he himself has no 
male children at the moment of adoption. His adopted 
sons enter into the line of his direct descent. If he have 
any male children after the adoption, his adopted children 
can only be called to the throne after his natural and legi- 



SENAT US-CONSULT UM ORGANIC OF 1804. 245 

timate offspring. Adoption is forbidden the successors of 
Napoleon Bonaparte, and their descendants. 

5. In default of natural and legitimate heir, or adopted 
heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, the imperial dignity devolves 
and goes to Joseph Bonaparte and his natural and legi- 
timate descendants, in the order of primogeniture, from male 
to male, to the perpetual exclusion of females and their 
descendants. 

6. In default of Joseph Bonaparte and his male de- 
scendants, the imperial dignity devolves and goes to Louis 
Bonaparte, and to his natural and legitimate descendants, 
in the order of primogeniture, from male to male, and to 
the perpetual exclusion of females and their descendants. 

7. In default of natural and legitimate heir or of adopted 
heir of Napoleon Bonaparte ; in default of natural and 
legitimate heirs of Joseph Bonaparte and of his male 
descendants ; of Louis Bonaparte and his male descendants, 
a senatus-consultum organic proposed to the senate by the 
titularies of the great dignities of the empire, and sub- 
mitted to the acceptance of the people, appoints the 
emperor, regulating the order of succession in his family, 
from male to male, to the perpetual exclusion of females 
and their descendants. 

8. Until the election of the new emperor be completed, 
the ministers, forming themselves into a council of govern- 
ment and deciding by the majority of votes, conduct the 
affairs of the state. The secretary of state keeps the 
register of their deliberations. 

Title III.— Of the Imperial Family. 

9. The members of the imperial family, in the order of 
succession, bear the title of French princes. 

The eldest son of the emperor bears that of prince 
imperial. 



246 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

10. A senatus-consultum regulates the manner in which 
the French princes shall be educated. 

11. On attaining their eighteenth year, they become 
members of the senate and council of state. 

12. They cannot marry without the consent of the em- 
peror. The marriage of a French prince, without the con- 
sent of the emperor, incurs forfeiture of all right to the 
succession, as well for him who has contracted it, as for his 
descendants. Nevertheless, if no children arise from a mar- 
riage of this kind, and it come to be dissolved, the prince 
who had contracted it recovers his rights to the succession. 

13. The instruments which attest the births, marriages 
and deaths of members of the imperial family, are trans- 
mitted, upon an order from the emperor, to the senate, which 
body directs them to be transcribed on its registers and 
deposited among its archives. 

14. Napoleon Bonaparte, by statutes to which his suc- 
cessors are bound to conform, establishes ; 1st. The duties 
of individuals of both sexes, members of the imperial family, 
towards the emperor ; 2d. An organization of the imperial 
palace, conformable to the dignity of the throne and the 
grandeur of the nation. 

15. The civil list remains on the footing established by 
articles 1 and 4 of the decree of 26 May 1791. 

The French princes Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, and for 
the future, the younger natural and legitimate sons of the 
emperor, shall be provided for conformably to Articles 1 , 
10, 11, 12 and 13 of the decree of the 21 December 1790. 

The emperor may fix the jointure of the empress, and 
charge it on the civil list : his successors shall not have the 
power of making any alteration in the arrangements which 
he may make on this subject. 

16. The emperor visits the departments : consequently, 
imperial palaces are established in the four principal points 



3ENATUS-C0NSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 247 

of the empire. These palaces are pointed out, and their 
dependencies determined by a law. 

Title IV. —Of the Regency. 

17. The emperor is a minor until the age of eighteen years 
complete. During his minority, there is a regent of the 
empire. 

18. The regent must be at least twenty-five years of age 
complete. Females are excluded from the regency*. 

19. The emperor appoints the regent from among the 
French princes who are of the age required by the preceding 
article ; and in default of them, from among the titularies 
of the great dignities of the empire. 

20. In default of appointment by the emperor, the regency 
is conferred on the prince nearest related to the throne in 
the order of succession, and who is twenty-five years of age 
complete. 

21. When the regent is not appointed by the emperor, 
and none of the Frenctrprinces are of the requisite age, the 
senate elects the regent from among the titularies of the 
great dignities of the empire. 

22. If, on account of the prince called in the order of suc- 
cession to the regency being under the requisite age, the 
regency has been conferred on a more distant relation, or 
on one of the titularies of the great dignities of the empire, 
the regent, once entered on the functions of his office, shall 
continue to discharge them until the majority of the em- 
peror. 

23. No senatus-consultum organic can be passed during 
the regency, nor before the end of the third year after the 
majority. 

24. The regent, until the majority of the emperor, exer- 
cises all the attributes of the imperial dignity. Neverthe- 

* A Senatus-consultum passed in 1813, calls females to the regency. 



248 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

less, he cannot nominate to the great dignities of the em- 
pire, to the great offices which may be vacant at the epoch 
of the regency or which may fall vacant during the minority : 
neither can he exercise the prerogative reserved to the 
emperor, of elevating citizens to the rank of senator. He 
cannot dismiss from office either the grand judge or the 
secretary of state. 

25. He is not personally responsible for the acts of his 
administration. 

26. All the acts of the regency are in the name of the 
minor emperor. 

27. The regent can propose no project of a law or sena- 
tus consultum, or adopt any rule of public administration, 
until he has taken the advice of the council of regency, 
composed of the titularies of the great dignities of the em- 
pire. He cannot declare war, or sign treaties of peace, 
alliance or commerce, until these measures have been 
resolved upon in the council of regency, of which the mem- 
bers, on this single occasion, have a deliberative voice. The 
resolutions of the council are governed by the majority of 
votes, and when these are equal, by the opinion of the 
regent. 

The minister for foreign relations takes his seat in the 
council of regency, when it deliberates upon affairs con- 
nected with his department. The grand judge, minister of 
justice, may be summoned there by order of the regent. 
The secretary of state keeps a journal of its proceedings. 

28. The regency does not confer any right over the person 
of the minor emperor. 

29. The salary of the regent is fixed at one-fourth the 
amount of the civil list. 

30. The guardianship of the minor emperor is intrusted 
to his mother ; and in default of her, to the prince fixed 
upon by the predecessor of the minor emperor. In default 
of both these, the senate confides the guardianship to 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OP 1804. 249 

one of the titularies of the great dignities of the empire, 
Neither the regent, his descendants, nor females, can be 
elected to this office. 

31. In case Napoleon Bonaparte should exercise the 
power conferred on him by Art. 4. Title 11, the act of 
adoption shall be made in presence of the titularies of the 
great dignities of the empire, be received by the secretary 
of state, and transmitted immediately to the senate to be 
transcribed on the journals, and deposited among the 
archives of that body. 

When the emperor nominates either a regent for a mino- 
rity, or a prince for the guardianship of the minor emperor, 
the same formalities are observed : either act of appoint- 
ment, whether of regent or guardian, being revocable at 
the will of the emperor. 

Every act of adoption, appointment, or revocation of 
appointment, which shall not have been inscribed on the 
journals of the senate before the decease of the emperor, 
shall be null and of no effect. 

Title V. — Of the great Dignities of the Empire. 

32. The great dignities of the empire are those of grand 
elector, arch-chancellor of the empire, arch-chancellor of 
state, arch-treasurer, constable and grand admiral. 

33. The titularies of the great dignities of the empire are 
appointed by the emperor. They enjoy the same honours 
as the French princes, and take precedence immediately 
after them. The period of their reception determines the 
rank which they respectively occupy. 

34. The great dignities of the empire are irremoveable. 

35. The titularies of the great dignities of the empire 
are senators and counsellors of state. 

36. They form the great council of the emperor ; are 
members of the privy council, and compose the great council 
of the legion of honour. The present members of the great 



250 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

council of the legion of honour, preserve, for the remainder 
of their lives, their titles, functions and prerogatives. 

37. The senate and the council of state are presided over 
by the emperor ; or in his absence, by one of the titularies 
of the great dignities of the empire, appointed by him. 

38. All the acts of the senate and legislative body are 
rendered in the name of the emperor, and promulgated or 
made public under the imperial seal. 

39. The grand-elector exercises the functions of chan- 
cellor, 1st. In convoking the legislative body, the electoral 
colleges and cantonal assemblies ; 2d. In promulgating 
senatus-consulta declaring the dissolution either of the 
legislative body or of the electoral colleges. He presides 
in the emperor's absence, when the senate proceeds to the 
nomination of senators, legislators or tribunes. He may 
reside in the palace of the senate. He communicates to the 
emperor the remonstrances presented by the electoral col- 
leges, or by the cantonal assemblies, with regard to the pre- 
servation of their privileges. When a member of an elec- 
toral college is denounced, conformably to Art. 21 of the 
senatus-consultum organic of 16 Thermidor year 10, as 
having committed any act contrary to honour or his country, 
the grand-elector invites the college to declare its wishes ; 
which he communicates to the emperor. 

The grand-elector presents the members of the senate, of 
the council of state, of the legislative body and the tribunate, 
when they take an oath to the emperor. He administers 
the oath to the presidents of the electoral colleges of de- 
partments and of cantonal assemblies. He presents the 
solemn deputations of the senate, the council of state, the 
legislative body, tribunate and electoral colleges, when ad- 
mitted to an audience of the emperor. 

40. The arch-chancellor of the empire performs the func- 
tions of chancellor in promulgating senatus-consulta organic 
and laws. He performs also the functions of chancellor of 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 251 

the imperial palace. He is present when the grand judge, 
minister of justice, lays before the emperor his annual 
report of the abuses which have crept into the administra- 
tion of justice, both civil and criminal. He presides in the 
imperial high court, and also over the united sections of the 
council of state and tribunate, conformable to Art. 95, Title 
XI. He is present at the marriages and births of princes, 
at the coronation and funeral obsequies of the emperor. He 
signs the proces-verbal framed by the secretary of state. 

He presents the titularies of the great dignities of the 
empire, the ministers and secretary of state, the great civil 
officers of the crown, and the first president of the court of 
cassation, when the oath is administered to them in the 
presence of the emperor. He administers the oath to the 
members and bar of the court of cassation, to the presidents 
and attorneys-general of the courts of appeal and criminal 
courts. He presents the solemn deputations, and the mem- 
bers of the courts of justice, when admitted to an audience 
of the emperor. He signs and seals the commissions and 
appointments of the members of the courts of justice and of 
the ministerial offices : he seals the commissions and war- 
rants of the civil administrative functions, and such other 
instruments as shall be designated in the regulation declar- 
ing the organization of the seal. 

41. The arch-chancellor of state performs the functions 
of chancellor in promulgating treaties of peace and alliance, 
and in declaring war. He presents to the emperor, and 
signs the credential letters and correspondence d 'etiquette 
with the different courts of Europe, digested according to 
the forms of the imperial protocol of which he is the 
guardian. He is present when the minister for foreign 
relations lays before the emperor his annual report of the 
political situation of the state. He presents the ambassa- 
dors and ministers of the empire in foreign courts, when 
the oath is administered to them in the presence of his 



252 senatus-consultum organic of 1804. 

imperial majesty. He administers the oath to the resi- 
dents, charges d'affaires, secretaries of embassy and lega- 
tion, to the commissaries-general and commissaries of com- 
mercial relations. He presents the ambassadors extraor- 
dinary, ambassadors and ministers, French and foreign. 

42. The arch-treasurer is present when the ministers of 
finance and of the public treasury lay before the emperor 
the annual accounts of the receipts and expenses of the 
state, and make known to him their views with regard to 
the financial wants of the empire. 

Before the accounts of the annual receipts and disburse- 
ments are laid before the emperor, they must receive his 
signature. 

He receives, every three months, the report of the la- 
bours of the national accountants, and every year, the ge- 
neral result and views of reform and amelioration in the 
different branches of the public accounts, which he lays 
before the emperor. 

He balances, every year, the great book of the public 
debt. 

He signs the warrants for granting civil pensions. He 
presides over the united sections of the council of state 
and the tribunate, conformably to Art. 95. Title XL 

He administers the oath to the national accountants, the 
administrators of finance, and to the principal agents of 
the public treasury. He presents the deputations from 
the national accountants and administrators of finance, 
when admitted to an audience of the emperor. 

43. The constable is present when the minister at war, 
and the director of the war department, lay before the em- 
peror the annual report of the measures to be taken for 
completing the system of defence on the frontiers, for 
the maintenance, reparation and provisioning of places. 

He lays the first stone of every new fortress. 
He is governor of the military schools. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 253 

When the emperor does not, in person, present the 
standards to the corps of the army, the constable does this 
in his name. He reviews the imperial guard when the em- 
peror is absent. When a general is charged with an of- 
fence specified in the penal military code, the constable 
may preside at the council of war appointed to try him. 

He presents the marshals of the empire, the colonels- 
general, the inspectors general, the officers-general and 
colonels of all arms, when the oath is administered to them 
in presence of the emperor. 

He administers the oath to majors, chiefs of battalion 
and of squadron of all arms. 

He instals the marshals of the empire. He presents 
the officers-general and colonels, majors, chiefs of battalion 
and of squadron of all arms, when admitted to an audience 
of the emperor. 

He signs the brevets of the army and those of the mili- 
tary pensionaries of the state. 

44. The grand-admiral is present when the minister of 
marine lays before the emperor the annual report of the 
state of the naval constructions, arsenals and supplies. 

He annually receives and presents to the emperor the 
accounts of the chest of the marine invalids. When an 
admiral, vice-admiral or rear-admiral, commander-in-chief 
of a naval force, is arraigned for a crime specified in the 
maritime penal code, the grand-admiral may preside over 
the court martial appointed to try him. He presents the 
admirals, vice-admirals, rear-admirals and captains of 
vessels, when the oath is administered to them in the pre- 
sence of the emperor. He administers the oath to the 
members of the council of prizes and to captains of fri- 
gates. He presents the admirals, vice-admirals, rear- 
admirals, captains of vessels, captains of frigates, and 
members of the council of prizes, when admitted to an 
audience of the emperor. He signs the brevets of the 



254 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

officers of the naval forces, and those of the marines pen- 
sioners of state. 

45. Each titulary of the great dignities of the empire 
presides over an electoral college of department. 

The electoral college sitting at Brussels is presided over 
by the grand-elector : That at Bourdeaux by the arch- 
chancellor of the empire: That at Nantz by the arch- 
chancellor of state : That at Lyons by the arch-treasurer 
of the empire : That at Turin by the constable : That at 
Marseilles by the grand-admiral. 

46. Each titulary of the great dignities of the empire 
receives annually, under the title of fixed provision, a 
third of the sum appropriated to the princes, conformably 
to the decree of the 21st of December, 1790. 

47. A statute of the emperor regulates the functions of 
the titularies of the great dignities of the empire about his 
person, and determines the costume to be worn by them in 
grand ceremonies. The successors of the emperor cannot 
deviate from this statute except by a senatus-consultum. 

Title VI. — The great Officers of the Empire. 

48. The great officers of the empire are : 1st. The mar- 
shals of the empire, chosen from among the most distin- 
guished generals. They do not exceed sixteen in number, 
exclusive of such as are senators. 2dly. Eight inspectors 
and colonels general of artillery and fortification, of cavalry 
and the marine. 3dly. Of such great civil officers of 
the crown as the emperor, by his statutes, shall hereafter 
institute. 

49. The post of great officer is irremoveable. 

50. Each of the great officers of the empire presides over 
an electoral college, which is particularly assigned to him 
at the moment of his appointment. 

51. If, by an order from the emperor, or from any other 
cause whatever, a titulary of a great dignity of the empire 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 255 

or a great officer, terminate his functions, he preserves 
his title, rank, prerogatives, and a moiety of his salary. 
He can only forfeit them by a judgment of the imperial 
high court. 

Title VII.— Of Oaths. 

52. Within two years after his accession or majority, the 
emperor, accompanied by the titularies of the great dig- 
nities of the empire, by the ministers and great officers of 
the empire, takes an oath to the French people upon the 
Evangelists, and in the presence of the senate, the council 
of state, the legislative body, the tribunate, the court of 
cassation, the archbishops, the bishops, the great officers 
of the legion of honour, the national accountants, the pre- 
sidents of the courts of appeal, the presidents of the elec- 
toral colleges, the presidents of the cantonal assemblies, the 
presidents of the consistories, and the mayors of the thirty- 
six principal towns of the empire. 

The secretary of state draws up the proces-verbal of the 
ceremony. 

53. The oath of the emperor is as follows: 

" I swear to maintain the integrity of the territory of 
" the republic ; to respect, and cause to be respected, the 
" laws of the concordat and the freedom of religious wor- 
" ship; to respect, and cause to be respected, the equality of 
" rights, political and civil liberty, the irrevocability of 
" the sales of national property ; to levy no impost, to 
u establish no tax, except in virtue of a law ; to maintain 
" the institution of the legion of honour ; to govern with a 
" sole view to the interest, the happiness, and the glory of 
" the French people." 

54. Before he enters upon the exercise of his functions, 
the regent, accompanied by the titularies of the great dig- 
nities of the empire, the ministers and the great officers of 
the empire, takes an oath upon the Evangelists, and in 



256 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

the presence of the senate, the council of state, the presi- 
dent and quaestors of the legislative body, the president and 
quaestors of the tribunate, and the great officers of tne le- 
gion of honour. 

The secretary of state prepares the proces-verbal of the 
ceremony. 

55. The oath of the regent is as follows : 

66 I swear to administer the affairs of the state, conform- 
" ably to the constitutions of the empire, to the senatus- 
" consulta and the laws ; to maintain in all their integrity 
" the territory of the republic, the rights of the nation, 
" and those of the imperial dignity; and faithfully to de- 
" liver up to the emperor, at the moment of his majority, 
", the power of which the exercise is confided to me." 

56. The titularies of the great dignities of the empire, 
the ministers and the secretary of state, the great officers, 
the members of the senate, of the council of state, of the 
legislative body, of the tribunate, of the electoral colleges 
and the cantonal assemblies, take the following oath : 

" I swear obedience to the constitutions of the empire, 
" and fidelity to the emperor." 

The public functionaries, civil and judicial, the offi- 
cers and soldiers of the land and naval forces, take the 
same oath. 

Title VIIL— Of the Senate. 

51. The senate is composed ; 1st. Of the French princes 
who have attained their eighteenth year ; 2d. Of the titu- 
laries of the great dignities of the empire ; 3d. Of the 
eighty members appointed on the presentation of candi- 
dates chosen by the emperor from the lists framed by the 
electoral colleges of department ; 4th. Of citizens whom 
the emperor thinks proper to raise to the dignity of se- 
nators. 

In case the number of senators should exceed that fixed 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804, 257 

by Art. 63. of the senatus-consultum organic of 16 Ther- 
midor, year 10, a law, in execution of Art. 17. of the se- 
natus-consultum of 14 Nivose, year 11, shall make the 
necessary provision. 

58. The president of the senate is appointed by the em- 
peror and chosen from amongst the senators. His functions 
continue for one year. 

59. He convokes the senate at the command of the em- 
peror, and on the requisition, either of the commissions of 
which mention will be hereafter made, (Art. 60 and 64,) 
or of a senator, conformably to the provisions of Art. 70, 
or of an officer of the senate, on business relating to the 
internal affairs of the assembly. 

He lays before the emperor an account of the several 
convocations made on the requisition of the commissions 
or of a senator, of their object, and of the results of the 
deliberations of the senate. 

60. A commission of seven members appointed by the 
senate and chosen from that body, takes cognizance, on 
communications being made by the ministers, of arrests 
executed in conformance to Art. 46. of the constitution, 
whenever the arrested persons have not been brought 
before the tribunals within ten days after their arrest. 
This commission is called The Senatorial Commission for 
Individual Liberty. 

61. All persons arrested and not brought to trial within 
ten days after their arrest, may have immediate recourse, 
by themselves, their relations or representatives, or by 
petition, to The Senatorial Commission for Individual 
Libert]/. 

62. When the commission is of opinion that the deten- 
tion prolonged beyond the ten days after the arrest is not 
justified by the interest of the state, it invites the minister 
who has ordered such arrest to set the person detained at 
liberty, or to bring him before the ordinary tribunals* 

Vot. i. s 



258 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

63. If after three successive invitations , renewed within 
the space of one month, the person detained be not set at 
liberty or brought before the ordinary tribunals, the com- 
mission demands an assembly of the senate. This is con- 
voked by the president, and issues, if there be room for it, 
the following declaration : 

44 There are strong presumptions that N. is arbitrarily 
" detained." 

It then proceeds conformably to the provisions of 
Art. 112. Title XIII. Of the Imperial High Court. 

64. A commission of seven members appointed by the 
senate, and chosen from that body, is charged with watch- 
ing over the liberty of the press. 

Works which are printed and distributed by subscription 
and periodically, do not fall under its cognizance. This 
commission is styled The Senatorial Commission for the Li- 
berty of the Press. 

65. The authors, printers, or booksellers, who think 
themselves justified in complaining of injunctions being laid 
upon the printing or circulation of a work, may have re- 
course immediately, and by petition, to The Senatorial Com- 
mission for the Liberty of the Press. 

66. When the commission is of opinion that the ob- 
struction is not called for by the interest of the state, it 
invites the minister who issued the order, to revoke it. 

67. If, after three successive invitations, renewed within 
the space of a month, the injunction still continue, the 
commission demands an assembly of the senate. This is 
convoked by the president, and issues, if there be room for 
it, the following declaration : 

" There are strong presumptions that the liberty of the 
" press has been violated." 

They then proceed conformably to the provisions of Art. 
112. Title XIII. Of the Imperial High Court. 

68. A member of each senatorial commission terminates 
his functions every four months. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANTC OF 1804. 259 

69. The projects of laws decreed by the legislative body 
are transmitted to the senate, and deposited in its archives, 
on the very day of their adoption. 

70. Every decree issued by the legislative body may be 
denounced in the senate, by a senator, 1st, As tending to the 
restoration of the feudal system ; 2nd, As contrary to the 
irrevocability of the sales of national property ; 3rd, As not 
having been passed according to the forms prescribed by 
the constitutions of the empire, regulations and laws ; 4th, 
As encroaching on the prerogatives of the imperial dignity, 
and on those of the senate : without prejudice, however, to 
the execution of Arts. 21 and 37 of the act on the consti- 
tutions of the empire, dated the 22nd Frimaire, year 8. 

71. The senate, within six days after the adoption of the 
project of a law, deliberating upon the report of a special 
commission, and after having heard the decree read three 
times at three sittings held on separate days, may express 
the opinion that there is no room for promulgating the law. 
The president lays the decision of the senate, with the 
motives thereof annexed, before the emperor. 

72. The emperor, after hearing the council of state, 
either declares by a decree his adherence to the resolution 
of the senate, or causes the law to be promulgated. 

73. Every law of which the promulgation, under these 
circumstances, has not been made before the expiration of 
ten days, cannot be promulgated, unless it has been anew 
deliberated upon, and adopted by the legislative body. 

74. The entire operations of an electoral college, and such 
partial operations as concern the presentation of candidates 
to the senate, to the legislative body and tribunate, cannot 
be annulled on the ground of their being unconstitutional, 
except by a senatus-consultum. 



S2 



260 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OP 1804. 

Title IX. — Of the Council of State. 

15. When the council of state deliberates upon projects 
of law, or on regulations of public admininistration, two 
thirds of the members of the council in ordinary service, are 
obliged to be present. The number of counsellors of state 
present cannot be less than twenty-five. 

76. The council of state is divided into six sections ; viz., 
the section of legislation, the section of the interior, the 
section of finance, the section of war, the section of the 
marine, and the section of commerce. 

77. When a member of the council of state has been 
during five years upon the list of members of the council in 
ordinary service, he receives a brevet as counsellor of state 
for life. 

When he ceases to be ranked on the list of the council of 
state in ordinary or extraordinary service, he is only en- 
titled to a third of the salary of a counsellor of state. 

He does not forfeit his title and rights, except by a 
judgment of the imperial high court, inflicting corporal or 
infamous punishment. 

Title X. — Of the Legislative Body. 

78. The members of the legislative body, going out, are 
immediately re-eligible. 

79. The projects of law presented to the legislative 
body, are returned to the three sections of the tribunate. 

80. The sittings of the legislative body are distinguished 
into ordinary sittings and general committees. 

81. Ordinary sittings are composed of the members of 
the legislative body, the orators of the council of state, and 
the orators of the three sections of the tribunate. General 
committees are composed of the members of the legislative 
body only. The president of the legislative body presides 
both at ordinary sittings, and at general committees. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 261 

82. At an ordinary sitting, the legislative body hears 
the orators of the council of state, and those of the three 
sections of the tribunate, and votes on the project of law. 
In a general committee the members of the legislative 
body discuss between them the merits or demerits of the 
project of law. 

83. The legislative body resolves itself into a general 
committee, 1st. On an invitation from the president, for 
business relating to the internal affairs of the assembly ; 
2d. On a demand addressed to the president, and signed by 
fifty of the members present ; 3d. On a demand from the 
orators of the council of state, particularly authorized for 
this purpose. In the two former cases the general com- 
mittee is secret, and the discussions can be neither printed 
nor made public — in the latter case it is necessarily 
public. 

No resolution can be passed in a general committee. 

84. When the discussion in a general committee is closed, 
the resolution is adjourned to an ordinary sitting on the 
following day. 

85. The legislative body, on the day appointed for voting 
on the project of law, and in the same sitting, gives a 
hearing to the orators of the council of state, who sum up 
their arguments on the subject of discussion. 

86. The resolution on a project of law cannot in any 
case be deferred longer than three days after that fixed for 
closing the discussion. 

87. The sections of the tribunate constitute the only 
commissions of the legislative body; nor can this body 
form any other except in the case laid down in Art. 113, 
Title XIII. Of the Imperial High Court. 

Title XL.— Of the Tribunate. 

88. The functions of the members of the tribunate con- 
tinue for ten years. 



262 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

89. The tribunate is renewed by one-half every five 
years. The first renewal shall take place for the session of 
the year 17, conformably to the senatus-consultum or- 
ganic of the 16th Thermidor, year 10. 

90. The president of the tribunate is appointed by the 
emperor, on the presentation of three candidates chosen by 
the tribunate by secret scrutiny, and by an absolute ma- 
jority of votes. 

91. The functions of the president of the tribunate con- 
tinue for two years. 

92. The tribunate has two qusestors. They are ap- 
pointed by the emperor, from a triple list of candidates 
chosen by the tribunate by secret ballot, and by an abso- 
lute majority of votes. Their functions are the same as 
those attributed to the quaestors of the legislative body by 
Articles .19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 of the senatus-con- 
sultum organic of the 24th Frimaire, year 12. One of 
the qusestors is renewed annually. 

93. The tribunate is divided into three sections ; namely, 
the section of legislation, the section of the interior, and 
the section of finance. 

94. Each section frames a list of three members, and 
from these the president of the tribunate appoints the 
president of the section. His functions continue a year. 

95. When the respective sections of the council of state 
and tribunate demand a conference, it takes place under 
the presidency of the arch-chancellor, or arch-treasurer of 
the empire, according to the nature of the subjects to be 
discussed. 

96. Each section discusses separately, and as a sectional 
assembly, the projects of law transmitted to it by the 
legislative body. Two orators from each section lay before 
the legislative body the opinion of their section, and 
explain the motives for it. 

97. In no case can projects of law be discussed by the 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 3804. 263 

tribunate in a general assembly. It meets as a general 
assembly under its president, for the exercise of the other 
powers assigned to it. 

Title XII.— The Electoral Colleges. 

98. Whenever an electoral college of department meets 
for the purpose of forming the list of candidates for the 
legislative body, the lists of candidates for the senate are 
renewed. Every renewal annuls all anterior presentations. 

99. The great officers, commanders, and officers of the 
legion of honour, are members of the electoral college of 
the department in which they have their domicil, or of one 
of the departments of the cohort to which they belong. 
The legionaries are members of the electoral college of their 
arrondissement. The members of the legion of honour are 
admitted to the electoral college of which they are to form 
a part, on presenting a brevet delivered to them for this 
purpose by the grand elector. 

100. The prefects and military commanders of depart- 
ments cannot be elected candidates for the senate by the 
electoral colleges of the departments in which they exercise 
their functions. 

Title XIII.— Of the Imperial High Court. 

101. An imperial high court takes cognizance, 

1st. Of personal offences committed by members of the 
imperial family, by titularies of the great dignities of the 
empire, by the ministers and secretary of state, by great 
officers, senators, and counsellors of state ; 2d. Of crimes, 
outrages, and plots, against the internal and external safety 
of the state, the person of the emperor, and that of the 
heir presumptive to the throne ; 3d. Of offences of official 
responsibility committed by ministers and counsellors of 
state, particularly charged with a part of public admini- 
stration ; 4th. Of prevarications and abuses of power com- 



264 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

mitted, either by captains-general of colonies, by colonial 
prefects and commanders of French settlements out of the 
continent, or by administrators-general extraordinarily em- 
ployed, or by land and naval generals, without prejudice with 
regard to these last, to the prosecutions of the military 
jurisdiction, in the cases determined by the laws ; 5th. Of 
the disobedience of land and naval generals who act con- 
trary to their instructions ; 6th. Of acts of extortion and 
dilapidation committed by prefects of the interior in the 
exercise of their functions ; 7th. Of forfeitures or prose- 
cutions for injustice which may be incurred by a court of 
appeal, a court of criminal justice, or by members of the 
court of cassation ; 8th. Of denunciations on account of 
arbitrary detention and violation of the liberty of the press. 
, 102. The seat of the imperial high court is in the 
senate. 

103. It is presided over by the arch-chancellor of the 
empire ; and when ill, absent, or legally prevented, by 
another titulary of a great dignity of the empire. 

104. The imperial high court is composed of the princes, 
the titularies of the great dignities, and the great officers 
of the empire, of the grand judge, minister of justice, 
sixty senators, six presidents of the sections of the council 
of state, fourteen counsellors of state, and twenty members 
of the court of cassation. The senators, counsellors of 
state, and members of the court of cassation, are sum- 
moned in the order of seniority. 

105. An attorney-general, appointed for life by the 
emperor, is attached to the imperial high court. He dis- 
charges the functions of his office, assisted by three tri- 
bunes, who are annually appointed by the legislative body 
from a list of nine candidates presented by the tribunate, 
and by three magistrates, annually appointed by the 
emperor, from among the officers of the courts of appeal 
or criminal justice. 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 265 

106. A registrar in chief, appointed for life by the 
emperor, is attached to the imperial high court. 

107. The president of the imperial high court can never 
be made liable to exception : he may, on legitimate 
grounds, abstain from giving judgment. 

108. The imperial high court can only act on the prose- 
cutions of the public ministry, for offences committed by 
those whose rank renders them amenable to the court: 
where there is a plaintiff, the public ministry necessarily 
becomes a joint and prosecuting party, and proceeds as 
is hereafter laid down. 

The public ministry is also a joint and prosecuting party 
in the case of forfeiture, or when a tribunal is prosecuted 
on a charge of unjust partiality. 

109. The magistrates for public safety, and the directors 
of juries, are obliged to stop proceedings, and to transmit 
to the attorney-general attached to the imperial high court, 
within eight days, all the instruments of the procedure, 
when, in the offences of which they prosecute the satis- 
faction, it turns out, either from the rank of the persons, 
from the title of accusation, or from other circumstances, 
that the affair falls within the jurisdiction of the imperial 
high court. 

Notwithstanding, the magistrates for public safety con- 
tinue to collect the proofs and traces of the offence. 

110. The ministers or counsellors of state charged with 
any part whatever of the public administration, may be 
denounced by the legislative body, if they have given orders 
contrary to the constitutions and laws of the empire. 

111. The legislative body has an equal right to denounce, 
the captains-general of colonies, the colonial prefects, the 
commanders of French settlements out of the continent, 
and the administrators-general, when any of these officers 
have prevaricated, or abused their power ; also, land or 
naval generals who have disobeyed their instructions, and 



266 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

prefects of the interior who have rendered themselves 
guilty of dilapidation or extortion. 

1 12. The legislative body denounces, in like manner, the 
ministers or agents of authority, whenever the senate 
reports to it, that there are strong evidences of arbitrary 
detention, or of the violation of the liberty of the press. 

113. The legislative body cannot make a denunciation 
of this kind unless on a demand from the tribunate, or 
on the requisition of fifty members for a secret committee, 
in order that it may appoint ten of its members to draw 
up the project of denunciation. 

1 14. In both cases, the demand or requisition must be 
made in writing, and signed by the president and secre- 
taries of the tribunate, or by ten members of the legislative 
body. 

Should it be directed against a minister, or counsellor of 
state charged with a part of the public administration, it 
is communicated to him within a month. 

115. The minister or counsellor of state who is de- 
nounced, does not appear in person for the purpose of 
answering the charges against him. The emperor appoints 
three counsellors of state to attend the legislative body on 
the day appointed, and to afford information on the facts 
contained in the denunciation. 

116. The legislative body discusses, in a secret com- 
mittee, the facts comprised in the demand or requisition, 
and decides thereon by ballot. 

117. The act of denunciation must be circumstantial, and 
signed by the president and secretaries of the legislative 
body. It is addressed, by a message, to the arch-chancellor 
of the empire, and this officer transmits it to the attorney- 
general in the imperial high court. 

118. The offences noticed in Article 111 are also de- 
nounced by the ministers, each in his department, to the 
officers charged with the public ministry. Should this be 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 267 

done by the grand judge, minister of justice, he can neither 
be present, nor take any part in the trials which result from 
his denunciation. 

119. In the cases determined by Arts. 110, 111, 112 and 
118, the attorney-general, within the period of three days, 
informs the arch-chancellor of the empire that there is room 
for assembling the imperial high court. The arch-chan- 
cellor, having taken the emperor's orders, gives directions 
for the opening of the court within eight days. 

120. At the first sitting of the imperial high court, it de- 
termines its competency to enter upon the case before it. 

121. In cases of denunciation or complaint, the attorney 
general^in concert with the tribunes and three magistrates, 
officers of the bar, examines if there be room for a prose- 
cution. 

The decision rests with the attorney-general, by whom 
also one of the magistrates of the bar may be charged with 
directing the prosecution. 

If the public ministry is of opinion that the complaint or 
denunciation ought not to be admitted, it moves certain 
resolutions to that effect, and on these the imperial high 
court, after having heard the magistrate charged with the 
report, pronounces. 

122. When the resolutions are adopted, the imperial 
high court terminates the affair by a definitive judgment. 
When they are rejected, the public ministry is bound to 
continue proceedings. 

123. In the second case provided for by the preceding 
article, and also when the public ministry is of opinion that 
the complaint or denunciation ought to be admitted, it is 
bound to draw up the act of accusation within eight days, 
and to communicate the same to the commissioner and 
supplement appointed by the arch-chancellor of the empire 
from among the judges of the court of cassation who are 



268 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

members of the imperial high court. The functions of this 
commissioner, and in his default, of the supplement, con- 
sist in drawing up the charge and report. 

124. The reporter, or his supplement, lays the act of accu- 
sation before twelve commissioners of the imperial high 
court, chosen by the arch-chancellor of the empire ; six from 
among the senators, and six from the other members 
of the court. The members chosen take no part in the 
judgment of the imperial high court. 

125. If the twelve commissioners decide that there is 
room for accusation, the reporting commissioner issues a 
declaration to that effect, orders writs of arrest, and pro- 
ceeds to the trial. 

126. If, on the contrary, the commissioners are of 
opinion that there is no room for accusation, the business 
is referred by the reporter to the imperial high court, 
which pronounces definitively. 

127. This court cannot exercise judgment unless at least 
sixty members are present. Ten of the whole number 
called to compose it may be challenged by the accused, 
without assigning his motives, and ten by the public party. 
The judgment of the court is determined by the majority of 
votes. 

128. The debates and sentence are public. 

129. The accused have counsel : if they are not present, 
the arch-chancellor of the empire grants it to them of- 
ficially. 

130. The imperial high court can only pronounce punish- 
ments enacted by the penal code. It has power, when 
there is room for it, to condemn to damages and costs. 

131. When it acquits, it may place those who are absolved 
under the superintendency, or at the disposition of the high 
police of the state, for the time which it thinks proper. 

132. The sentences rendered by the imperial high court 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 269 

are not subject to any appeal. Those which condemn to 
corporal or infamous punishment, cannot be carried into 
execution until they have been signed by the emperor. 

133. A particular senatus-consultum contains the re- 
maining provisions, relative to the organization and pro- 
ceedings of the imperial high court. 

Title XIV .—Of the judicial Order. 

134. The judgments of the courts of justice are intituled 
Arrets. 

135. The presidents of the courts of cassation, of the 
courts of appeal, and of criminal justice, are appointed for 
life by the emperor, and are not necessarily chosen from the 
courts over which they are to preside. 

136. The tribunal of cassation takes the title of the court 
of cassation : the tribunals of appeal, that of courts of 
appeal: the criminal tribunals, that of courts of criminal 
justice. 

The president of the courts of cassation and that of the 
courts of appeal, divided into sections, take the title of first 
president. The vice-presidents take that of presidents. 
The commissioners of government attached to the court of 
cassation, to the courts of appeal and criminal justice, take 
the title of imperial attorneys-general. The commissioners 
of government attached to the other tribunals, take the 
title of imperial attorneys. 

Title XV .—Of Promulgation. 

137. The emperor causes to be sealed and promulgated 
the senatus-consulta organic, senatus-consulta, the acts of 
the senate, and laws : the three former within ten days, at 
farthest, after they have passed. 

138. Two original copies are made of each act mentioned 
in the preceding article. Both are signed by the emperor, 
attested by one of the titularies of the great dignities, each 



270 SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 

according to his rights and attributes, countersigned by the 
secretary of state and the minister of justice, and sealed 
with the great seal of state. 

139. One of these copies is deposited in the archives of 
the seal, and the other committed to the archives of the 
public authority whence the act originated. 

140. The promulgation is conceived in the terms fol- 
lowing : — 

" N. (the name of the emperor) by the grace of God, and 
" the constitutions of the republic, emperor of the French, 
" to all present and to come, greeting: 

" The senate, after having heard the orators of the 
" council of state, has decreed, and we ordain as follows : 

" (And if a law) The Legislative Body, in con- 
formance to the proposition made in the name of the 
" emperor, and, after having heard the orators of the 
" council of state, and of the sections of the tribunate, has 
" issued (mentioning the date) the following decree : — 

" We command and ordain, that these presents, furnished 
" with the seals of state, inserted in the bulletin of the laws, 
" be addressed to the courts, tribunals and administrative 
" authorities, in order that they may inscribe them in their 
" registers, observe theti, and cause them to be observed ; 
" the grand judge, minister of justice, being charged with 
" watching over the publication of the said presents." 

141. The warrants in execution of judgments, are drawn 
up as follows ; — 

" N. (the name of the emperor) by the grace of God, and 
" the constitutions of the republic, emperor of the French, 
" to all present, and to come, greeting : 

" The court of , or the tribunal of , 

" (if it be a tribunal of the first instance) has issued the 
" judgment following : — 

66 (Here follows a copy of the judgment.) 

** We command and ordain all bailiffs on this requisi- 



SENATUS-CONSULTUM ORGANIC OF 1804. 271 

" tion, to put the said judgment in execution, to our at- 
" torneys general, and attorneys attached to the tribunals 
" of the first instance, to lend their assistance ; and to all 
" commanders and officers of the public force to use the 
" power intrusted to them in aid of the same, when legally 
" required. 

" In testimony of which the present judgment has been 
" signed by the president of the court or tribunal, and by 
" the registrar." 

Title XVI. 

142. The following proposition shall be presented to the 
acceptance of the people in the form determined by the 
decree of the 20th Florial, year 10 : — 

" The people wills the imperial dignity to be hereditary 
" in the direct, natural, legitimate and adopted descent of 
" Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the direct, natural and le- 
" gitimate descent of Joseph Bonaparte and of Louis Bo- 
" naparte, as regulated by the senatus-consultum organic 
"of that day." 



272 



ACT ADDITIONAL 

TO THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE EMPIRE, GIVEN BY THE EMPEROR 
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE*, 22 APRIL, 1815. 



Napoleon, by the grace of God and the constitutions, 
emperor of the French, to all present and to come, Greeting . 

Called fifteen years since by the will of France to the go- 
vernment of the state, we have endeavoured at different 
periods to improve the constitutional forms, according to 
the wants and wishes of the nation, and by profiting from 
the lessons of experience. The constitutions of , the empire 
are thus formed of a series of acts which have been sanc- 
tioned by the acceptance of the people. We had Ihen in 
view the organizing a grand European federative system, 
which we had adopted, as conformable to the spirit of the 
age, and favourable to the progress of civilization. In 
pursuit of this object, and in order to give the said system 
all the extent, and all the stability of which it was suscep- 
tible, we put off the establishment of several internal insti- 
tutions, more particularly calculated to protect the liberty 
of the citizen. Henceforward, we have no other object than 
to increase the prosperity of France, by giving strength and 
security to public freedom. To effect this, several impor- 
tant modifications in the constitutions, senatus-consulta, 
and other acts which govern the empire, are necessary. 

For these causes, therefore, willing on the one hand to 
preserve of the past what is good and salutary, and on the 
other, to render the constitutions of our empire every way 
conformable to the wants and wishes of the nation, as well 

* This act, in chronological order, should be placed after the charter, 
but it is put here in order that all the acts which formed the constitutions 
of the empire might appear together. 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THE EMPIRE. 273 

as to the state of peace which we are desirous to maintain 
with Europe, we have resolved to offer to the people a series 
of provisions, calculated to modify and improve the consti- 
tutional acts, to afford security to the rights of citizens, to 
give to the representative system all the extension it is 
capable of, to invest the intermediary bodies with the con- 
sideration and power necessary to them — in one word, to 
unite the highest point of political liberty and individual 
security, with the strength and centralization which are 
necessary to make the independence of the French people, 
and the dignity of our crown, respected by foreigners. In 
consequence, the following articles, forming an act supple- 
mentary to the constitutions of the empire, shall be sub- 
mitted to the free and solemn acceptance of all the citizens, 
throughout the whole extent of France. 

Title I.— General Dispositions. 

Art. 1. The constitutions of the empire, namely, the con- 
stitutional act of the 22 Frimaire, year 8, the senatus-con- 
sulta of the 14 and 16 Thermidor, year 10, and that of the 
28 Floreal, year 12, shall undergo the following modifica- 
tions. All other clauses contained in the said constitutions, 
shall be confirmed and held valid. 

2. The legislative power is exercised by the emperor and 
by two chambers. 

3. The first chamber, or chamber of peers, is hereditary. 

4. The emperor appoints the members of this chamber : 
they are irrevocable, they and their male descendants in 
line direct, and according to the order of primogeniture. 
The number of peers is unlimited. Adoption does not 
confer the rank of peer on the person who is the subject 
of it. 

The peers take their seat at twenty-one years of age, but 
have no deliberative voice until twenty-five. 

5. The arch-chancellor of the empire presides over the 
Vol. I. T 



274 ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE 

chamber of peers, or, in the case provided for by Art. 51 of 
the senatus-consultum of the 28Floreal, year 12, one of the 
members of the chamber especially appointed by the em- 
peror. 

6. The members of the imperial family, in the order of 
succession, are peers of right. They sit next to the presi- 
dent. They take their seats at eighteen years of age, but 
have no deliberative voice until twenty-one. 

7. The second chamber, or chamber of representatives, 
is elected by the people. 

8. The members of this chamber are six hundred and 
twenty-nine in number. They must be at least twenty-five 
years of age. 

9. The president of the chamber of representatives is 
appointed by the chamber, at the opening of its first session. 
He continues in office until the renewal of the chamber. 
His appointment is subject to the emperor's approbation. 

10. The chamber of representatives verifies the powers 
of its members, and decides on the validity of disputed 
elections. 

11. The members of the chamber of representatives, for 
the expenses of travelling, and during the session, receive 
the indemnity decreed by the constituent assembly. 

12. They are indefinitely re-eligible. 

13. The chamber of representatives is renewed of right, 
and entirely, every five years. 

14. No member of either chamber can be arrested, ex- 
cept in the case of flagrans delictum, or prosecuted on a 
criminal or correctional charge, during the sessions, except 
in pursuance of a resolution of the chamber of which he 
forms a part. 

15. No one can be arrested or detained for debt, from 
the day on which the chambers are convoked, until forty 
days after the session. 

16. The peers are tried by their chamber, on charges of 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THfi EMPIRE, 275 

a criminal and correctional nature, in the forms which shall 
be regulated by law. 

17. A peer or representative may discharge public func- 
tions of any description, except such as are connected with 
the national accounts. 

Notwithstanding, the prefects and sub-prefects cannot be 
chosen by the electoral college of the department or arron- 
dissement, in which they officiate. 

18. The emperor sends to the chambers any of the mini- 
sters and counsellors of state, who sit there, and take part 
in the discussions, but have no deliberative voice, except as 
peers or representatives of the people, they are members of 
the chamber. 

19. The ministers who are members of the chamber of 
peers or of that of representatives, or who sit there as 
agents of the government, give the explanations required 
of them by the chamber, when the interest of the state is 
not compromised by their publicity. 

20. The sittings of the two chambers are public. They 
may, however, form themselves into a secret committee ; 
the chamber of peers on the demand of ten members ; that 
of representatives, on the demand of twenty-five. The 
government also, when it has communications to make, 
may call for a secret committee. In all cases, the resolu- 
tions of the chambers cannot be passed, or the votes given, 
except in a public sitting. 

21. The emperor may prorogue, adjourn, and dissolve 
the chamber of representatives. The proclamation for dis- 
solving the chamber convokes the electoral colleges for a 
new election, and enjoins the meeting of the representa- 
tives within six months at farthest. 

22. The chamber of peers cannot meet during the vaca- 
tion of the chamber of representatives, or when that body 
is dissolved. 

23. The government has the right of proposing laws. 

T 2 



276 



ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE 



The chambers may propose amendments ; but if these 
amendments are not adopted by the government, the cham- 
bers are obliged to vote on the law as originally proposed 
to them. 

24. The chambers have a right to invite the government 
to propose a law on a determinate object, and to reduce to 
a digested form the provisions which it appears to them 
proper to insert in the law. 

25. When the draft of a bill thus framed, is adopted in 
one chamber, it is carried to the other, and if there approved 
of, it is presented to the emperor. 

26. No written discourse, except the reports of the com- 
missions, the reports of the ministers on proposed laws, 
and the accounts which are presented, can be read in either 
of the chambers. 

Title II. — Of the Electoral Colleges, and of the Mode of 

Election. 

27. The electoral colleges of department and arrondisse- 
ment are preserved, conformably to the senatus-consultum 
of the 16 Thermidor, year 10, save the modifications here- 
after mentioned. 

28. The cantonal assemblies shall fill up every year, by 
annual elections, all the vacancies in the electoral colleges. 

29. From and after the year 1816, a member of the 
chamber of peers, appointed by the emperor, shall be pre- 
sident for life and irremoveable, of each electoral college of 
department. 

30. From and after the same period, the electoral college 
of each department, from among the members of each col- 
lege of arrondissement, shall appoint the president and two 
vice-presidents. For this purpose, the meeting of the col- 
lege of department shall precede by fifteen days that of the 
college of arrondissement. 

31. The colleges of department and arrondissement shall 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THE EMPIRE. 277 

appoint the number of representatives laid down for each, 
by the act and table hereto annexed # . 

32. The representatives may be chosen indifferently 
throughout the whole extent of France. 

Every college of department or arrondissement which 
shall choose a representative not a native of the said de- 
partment or arrondisement, shall appoint a supplement, 
who shall be chosen necessarily, out of the department or 
arrondissement which elects him. 

33. The manufacturing and commercial interests shall 
have a particular representation. 

The election of the commercial and manufacturing re- 
presentatives shall be made by the electoral college of de- 
partment, from a list of eligible persons drawn up by the 
chambers of commerce and consultative chambers together, 
according to the act hereto annexed f. 

Title III. — Of Laws relating to Taxation. 

34. Direct general taxes, whether on real property, or 
on moveables, are only voted for a year. Indirect taxes 
may be voted for several years. 

When the chamber of representatives is dissolved, the 
taxes voted in the preceding session are continued until the 
meeting of the new chamber. 

35. No direct or indirect tax, in money or in kind, can 
be collected ; no loan can be contracted ; no inscription of 
credit on the great book of the public debt can be made ; 
no domain can be alienated or exchanged ; no levy of men 
for the army can be ordered ; no portion of the territory 
can be exchanged, except in pursuance of a law. 

36. No proposition for a tax, loan, or levy of men, can 
be made, except to the chamber of representatives. 

* See the table placed after the constitutional charter, 
f See page 2S2. 



278 



ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE 



37. To the chamber of representatives also is first car- 
ried, 1. The general budget of the state, containing the 
estimate of the receipts, and the means proposed for meet- 
ing the expenses of the year in each department of the 
ministry ; 2. The account of the receipts and expenses of 
the year, or of preceding years. 

Title IV. — Of the Ministers and their Responsibility. 

38. All the acts of government must be countersigned by 
a minister holding a department. 

39. The ministers are responsible for the acts of govern- 
ment signed by them, as well as for the execution of the 
laws. 

40. They may be accused by the chamber of representa- 
tives, and are tried by that of the peers. 

41 . Every minister, every commandant of land or naval 
forces, may be accused by the chamber of representatives, 
and tried by that of the peers, for having compromised the 
security or honour of the nation. 

42. The chamber of peers exercises in this case, as well 
in determining the character of the offence, as in inflicting 
the punishment, a discretionary power. 

43. Before ordering the impeachment of a minister, the 
chamber of representatives must declare that there is room 
for examining the grounds on which the motion for im- 
peachment is founded. 

44. This declaration cannot be made except upon the 
report of a commission of sixty members, chosen by lot. 
And the commission cannot make its report within a period 
of less than ten days after its appointment. 

45. When the chamber has declared that there is room 
for an examination, it may summon the minister before it, 
and demand an explanation from him. This summons 
cannot be issued within a period of less than ten days after 
the report of the commission. 



CONSTITUTIONS OP THE EMPIRE. 279 

46. In every other case, the ministers holding depart- 
ments may be summoned or ordered before them, by the 
chambers. 

47. When the chamber of representatives has declared 
that there is room for examination against a minister, 
a new commission is formed of sixty members, drawn, like 
the first commission, by lot. This commission makes a 
new report on the impeachment of the minister, though 
not until ten days after its appointment. 

48. The resolution for impeachment cannot be passed 
until ten days after the reading and distribution of the 
report. 

49. When the resolution for impeachment has passed, 
the chamber of representatives appoints five of its mem- 
bers, as commissioners, for prosecuting the impeachment 
before the chamber of peers. 

50. Art. 75, Title VIII., of the constitutional act of the 
22 Frimaire, year 8, declaring that the agents of the go- 
vernment cannot be prosecuted except in pursuance of a 
decision of the council of state, shall be modified by a law. 

Title V.- — Of the Judiciary Power. 

51. The emperor appoints all the judges. They hold 
their offices for life ; saving the appointment of the judges 
of the peace, and the judges of commerce, which shall be 
ordered as heretofore. The judges now in office, appointed 
by the emperor according to the provisions of the senatus- 
consultum of the 12th October 1807, or such as he shall 
think proper to continue in office, shall receive provision 
for life before the first of January next. 

52. The institution of juries is preserved. 

53. The pleadings in criminal causes are public. 

54. Military offences alone, are within the jurisdiction 
of the military tribunals. 



280 



ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE 



55. All other offences, not excepting those which are 
committed by military persons, come under the jurisdiction 
of the civil tribunals. 

56. All the crimes and offences which were attributed to 
the imperial high court, and of which the cognizance is 
not reserved by the present act to the chamber of peers, 
shall be carried before the ordinary tribnnals. 

57. The emperor has the right, even in correctional 
cases, of granting pardon, as well as that of granting 
amnesty. 

58. When the court of cassation requires the interpreta- 
tion of a disputed point of law, this shall be given in the 
form of a law. 

Title VI. — Rights of Citizens. 

59. Frenchmen are equal in the eye of the law, as well 
with regard to taxes and public burdens, as to the right of 
admission to civil and military employments. 

60. No one, under any pretext, can be withdrawn from 
the judges whom the law assigns to him. 

61. No one cart be prosecuted, arrested, detained, or 
sent into exile, except in the cases laid down in the law, 
and according to the form which it prescribes. 

62. The freedom of religious worship is guaranteed to 
all. 

63. Every description of property possessed or acquired 
in pursuance of the laws, and all the debts of the state, are 
inviolable. 

64. Every citizen, by affixing his name to his writings, 
has a right to print and publish his sentiments. After 
publication he incurs a legal responsibility ; though then, 
even if there should be room only for applying a correc- 
tional punishment, he cannot be tried, except by a jury. 

65. The right of petition is assured to all citizens. Every 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THE EMPIRE. 281 

petition is individual. These petitions may be addressed 
either to the government, or to the two chambers ; but 
both must be entitled — To H. M. the Emperor. They shall 
be presented to the chambers on the guarantee of the mem- 
ber who recommends the petition. They are read publicly ; 
and if the chamber takes them into consideration, are laid 
before the emperor by the president. 

66. No place, no portion of the territory, can be declared 
under martial law, except in the case of invasion by a fo- 
reign force, or of civil commotions. 

In the first case, the declaration is made by an act of 
government. In the second case, it can only be done by a 
law. If however the chambers should not happen to be in 
session, the act of government for declaring martial law 
must be converted into a proposition of law, within fifteen 
days after their meeting. 

67. The French people declare, moreover, that in the 
delegation which they have made, and which they now 
make of their powers, they never meant, and they do not 
now mean, to confer the right of proposing the re-esta- 
blishm^nt of the Bourbons, or of any prince of that family, 
on the throne of France, not even in the case of the extinc- 
tion of the imperial dynasty ; neither the right of restoring 
the old feudal nobility, the feudal and seigneurial rights, 
the tithes, or any privileged and dominant religion, no 
more than the power of doing any thing in prejudice to the 
irrevocability of the sale of the national domains: they 
formally interdict to the government, to the chambers and 
to the citizens, any proposition to this effect. 

Napoleon. 



282 ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE 



AN ACT FOR REGULATING THE NUMBER OF DEPUTIES 

INTENDED TO REPRESENT THE COMMERCIAL 

AND MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 

22 april, 1815. 



Art. 1. In pursuance of Art. 33 of the act of the con- 
stitutions, relative to the representation of the commercial 
and manufacturing interests, France shall be divided into 
thirteen arrondissements # . 

2. Twenty-three deputies shall be appointed for all the 
arrondissements, and shall be chosen, first, from among 
the merchants, owners of private armed ships of war, or 
bankers; secondly, from among the manufacturers f. 

3. The deputies shall be appointed in the chief place, 
and by the electors of the department J. 

4. The deputies shall be necessarily chosen from a list 
of eligible persons framed by the united members of the 
chambers of commerce, and of the consultative chambers 
of commerce, of the whole commercial arrondissement ; 
the said chambers appointing by ballot, and the majority 
of votes, a president, vice-president, and secretary. 

5. The assembly charged with framing this list, shall 
place on it the merchants who are the most distinguished 
for their probity and talents, who pay the most taxes, who 
carry on the most extensive trade at home and abroad, or 

* Chief places of the commercial arrondissements : Lille, Rouen, Nantz, 
Bourdeaux, Toulouse, Nimes, Marseilles, Lyons, Strasburgh, Troyes, 
Paris, Orleans, Tours — comprising- the eighty-seven departments. 

t To the number of eleven from the first, and twelve from the second. 

% In the thirteen towns, the chief places of the commercial arrondisse- 
ments, mentioned in the preceding note. 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THE EMPIRE. 283 

employ the greatest number of workmen ; distinguishing 
them according to the nature of the commercial affairs in 
which they are engaged. 

6. This list shall be composed of sixty for each commer- 
cial arrondissement, and of one hundred and twenty for the 
arrondissement of Paris. Each shall contain at least a 
third manufacturers, and a third merchants. 

7. It shall be renewed, throughout, every five years, at 
the end of every legislature, or in case of the dissolution of 
the chamber of representatives. 

8. The present act shall be annexed to the act additional 
to the constitutions, bearing date this day. 



284 
ACCESSION OF LOUIS XVIII 



In consequence of the disaster at Leipsic the allied armies 
entered France. The ministers of the foreign courts signed 
at Chaumont, on the 1st of March, 1814, a treaty of 
alliance, the object of which was to compel France to 
subscribe to a peace which should secure the independence 
of Europe. Their armies daily approached the capital : 
finally, on the 30th of March, the heights of Paris were 
attacked, and on the 31st, a capitulation delivered the city 
to the allied sovereigns. 

On the 1st. of April, the senate appointed a provisional 
government, and the council-general of the department of 
the Seine, conjointly with the municipal council of Paris, 
published a proclamation, in which they declared that 
they freed themselves from all obedience to Napoleon, and 
expressed a wish for the restoration, or the monarchical 
government in the person of Louis XVIII. 

On the 3d. a decree of the senate pronounced the depo- 
sition of the emperor, abolished the right of succession 
established in his family, and absolved the French from 
the oath which they had taken to him. All this took 
place while Napoleon, ill informed of what was passing at 
Paris, abdicated at Fontainebleau in favour of his son : 
but being informed soon after of the measures taken 
towards his family, the same man who, but a short time 
before had rejected an advantageous peace, was now 
willing to profit of the last and only favour that would be 
granted him. 

The emperor of Russia had in the mean while published 
a proclamation inviting the senate to frame a constitution, 
which France, he said, could no longer do without *. This 

* See the Moniteur of 31 March, 1814. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 285 

was drawn up in haste, and presented by the provisional 
government to the acceptance of the senate on the 6th of 
April. 

By this instrument the dynasty of the Bourbons was 
restored, but the king was not to be proclaimed until he 
should have declared, in writing, his assent to the oath 
prescribed by the constitution. In other respects the con- 
stitution of the senate rested nearly on the same general 
grounds as that of 1791. It declared, that the French 
people called freely to the throne Louis -Stanislas-Xavier de 
France, brother of the last king. The inviolability of 
the royal person, the freedom of religion, the liberty of 
the press, were recognised ; the public debt, the sale of 
the national domains guaranteed ; confiscation abolished ; 
the old and new nobility preserved. 

The legislative power was vested in the king and two 
chambers ; the former having the right of sanction, and 
the three branches indiscriminately, the privilege of pro- 
posing laws. The age of twenty-five was declared suffi- 
cient to render a person eligible to either chamber. The 
dignity of senator was made perpetual and hereditary from 
male to male, in the order of primogeniture : the revenues 
of the senate were left to the senators and their successors. 

Other articles arranged particular interests. Thus the 
rank, honours, and pensions of the military were gua- 
ranteed : no Frenchman could be called to an account 
either for the opinions he had expressed, or the votes he 
had given — principles equally confirmed by the charter. 

The constitution decreed by the senate produced no 
result. By the royal declaration of Saint-Ouen, published 
the 2d of May, the king assured the French that he would 
fix by a solemn act, the rules of their rights. Commis- 
sioners of the senate and legislative body were to engage 
in compiling it. At length, in the beginning of the month 
following, the king opened the session of the chambers. 



286 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 



The constitutional charter was read in the assembly : the 
peers and deputies swore fidelity to the king, and to the 
laws of the kingdom : and the government of the charter 
was established. 

Decree of the Senate, conferring the Provisional Government 
of France on H. R. H. the Count d'Artois, under the 
Title of Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. 

Paris, April 14, IS 14. 

The senate having deliberated on the proposition of the 
provisional government, and having heard the report of a 
special commission of seven members, 

Decrees as follows : 

The senate commits the provisional government of France 
to H. R. H. the Count d'Artois, under the title of lieu- 
tenant-general of the kingdom, until Louis-Stanislas- 
Xavier de France, called to the throne of the French, shall 
have accepted the constitutional charter. 

The senate resolves that the decree of this day, con- 
cerning the provisional government of France, shall be 
presented this evening by the senate in a body, to H. R. H. 
the Count d'Artois. 

Reply of H. R. H. the Count oVArtois to the Decree of the 

Senate. 

April 14, 1814. 

I have taken notice of the constitutional act which recalls 
the king, my august brother, to the throne of France. 
I have received from him no authority to accept the con- 
stitution, but I know his sentiments and his principles, 
and I do not fear being disavowed when I assure you, in 
his name, that he will admit the basis of it. 

The king, in declaring that he would maintain the form 
of government now existing, by this acknowledged that 
the monarchy ought to be balanced by a representative 
government divided into two chambers, which two chambers 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 287 

are the senate, and the chamber of deputies of the depart- 
ments ; that the impost shall be freely consented to by 
the representatives of the nation ; public and individual 
liberty secured ; the liberty of the press respected, save 
the restrictions necessary to the maintenance of order and 
the public tranquillity ; the freedom of religion guaranteed ; 
property rendered inviolable and sacred ; the ministers 
responsible, liable to be accused and prosecuted by the 
representatives of the nation ; the judges irremoveable ; 
the judicial power independent, no one being liable to be 
torn from his natural judges ; the public debt guaranteed ; 
the pensions, ranks, and military honours preserved, as 
well as the old and new nobility ; the legion of honour 
maintained, the king determining its decoration ; that 
every Frenchman be eligible to civil and military employ- 
ments ; that no individual be disquieted for his opinions or 
votes, and that the sale of the national domains be 
irrevocable. These, gentlemen, appear to me the bases 
essentially necessary for consecrating the rights and tracing 
the duties of all, for assuring the existing state of things, 
and guaranteeing the future. 

I thank you, in the name of the king my brother, for the 
part which you have had in the restoration of our legitimate 
sovereign, and for having by that measure assured the 
happiness of France, for which the king and his whole 
family are ready to sacrifice their lives. One sentiment 
only can henceforward prevail amongst us : there is no 
need for recalling the past : we are no longer but a nation 
of brothers. During the time I hold the reins of power, 
which I hope will be very short, I shall employ all the 
means at my disposal, for contributing to the public 
happiness. 

Declaration of the King, dated the 2d of May, 1814. 

Louis, by the grace of God, king of France and Navarre : 
to all to whom these presents shall come ; greeting. 



288 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

Recalled by the love of our people to the throne of our 
fathers, enlightened by the misfortunes of the nation we 
are destined to govern, our first care is to invoke that 
mutual confidence, so necessary to our repose and to their 
happiness. 

Having perused with attention the plan of the consti- 
tution proposed by the senate on the 6th of April last, we 
acknowledge the justice of the basis on which it is found- 
ed, but perceive that many articles, bearing the stamp 
of the precipitation with which they were drawn up, 
cannot, in their present form, become fundamental laws of 
the state. Resolved to adopt a liberal constitution, we 
wish it to be sagely combined ; and, unable to accept one 
which it is indispensable to correct, we convoke, for the 
tenth of the month of June in the present year, the senate 
and the legislative body ; engaging ourselves to lay before 
them the work which, with the assistance of a commission 
chosen from these two bodies, we shall have framed, and 
for the bases of such constitution to give the following 
guarantees. 

The representative government shall be maintained, such 
as it now exists, divided into two bodies ; viz., the senate, 
and the chamber composed of the deputies of the de- 
partments. 

The impost shall be freely consented to ; public and 
individual liberty assured ; the liberty of the press respected, 
save the precautions necessary to the public tranquillity ; 
the freedom of worship guaranteed ; property shall be 
inviolable and sacred ; the sale of national property irre- 
vocable ; the ministers, responsible, shall be liable to be 
prosecuted by one of the legislative chambers, and tried by 
the other ; the judges shall be irremoveable, and the judi- 
cial power independent ; the public debt shall be gua- 
ranteed ; the pensions, ranks, and honours of the military 
preserved, as well as the old and new nobility ; the legion 
of honour, of which we will determine the decoration, shall 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER, 



289 



be preserved ; every Frenchman shall be admissible to civil 
and military employments : finally, no individual shall be 
liable to be disquieted for his opinions or his votes. 
Done at Saint Ouen, the 2d of May, 1814. 

Signed. Louis. 



lt% 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 
June 4, 1814. 

Louis, by the grace of God, king of France and Navarre ; 
to all those to whom these presents shall come ; greeting. 

Divine Providence, in recalling us to our states after a 
long absence, has imposed upon us great obligations. 
Peace was the first thing necessary to our subjects: we 
have been incessantly occupied with it, and that peace, as 
necessary to France as to the rest of Europe, is signed. A 
constitutional charter was called for by the actual state of 
the kingdom : we promised it, and we publish it. We 
have reflected that although authority, whole and entire, 
resided in France in the person of the king, our prede- 
cessors have not hesitated to modify the exercise of it 
according to the difference of times ; that thus the com- 
munes owed their freedom to Louis the Fat, the confirma- 
tion and extension of their rights to Saint Louis and Philip 
the Fair ; that the judicial order was established and 
developed by the laws of Louis XL, Henry II., and 
Charles IX.; in fine, that Louis XIV. regulated almost 
every part of public administration by different ordinances, 
of which nothing had surpassed the wisdom. 

After the example, therefore, of the kings our prede- 
cessors, we could not fail to appreciate the effects arising 
from the always increasing progress of knowledge, the 
new relations which this increase has introduced into 
society, the impulse given to men's minds within half a 

Vol. I. U 



290 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

century, and the important changes which have resulted 
from it ; we acknowledged that the desire of our subjects 
for a constitutional charter was the expression of a real 
want ; but, in acceding to their wishes we have taken 
every precaution that this charter might be worthy of us, 
and of the people we are proud to govern* Men, eminent 
for their wisdom, and taken from the first bodies of the 
state, have been joined to commissioners of our council for 
labouring at this important work. 

But in acknowledging that a free and monarchical con- 
stitution was necessary to fulfil the expectations of en- 
lightened Europe, we were obliged to recollect also, that 
our first duty towards our people was to preserve, for their 
own interest, the rights and prerogatives of our crown. 
We hoped that, instructed by experience, they would be 
convinced that the supreme authority could alone give to 
the institutions which it establishes, the strength, per- 
manency, and majesty with which it is itself invested — that 
thus, when the wisdom of kings freely accords with the 
desires of the people, a constitutional charter may be of 
long duration ; but, that when violence extorts concessions 
from the weakness of the government, public liberty is no 
less in danger than the throne itself. We have sought the 
principles of the constitutional charter in the character of 
the French, and in the venerable monuments of past ages. 
Thus, in the restoration of the peerage we behold an insti- 
tution truly national, and which ought to unite all recol- 
lections to all hopes, by uniting ancient and modern times. 

In the chamber of deputies we have replaced those an- 
cient assemblies of the Champs-de-Mars and de Mai, and 
those chambers of the third-estate, which so often afforded 
proofs of zeal for the interests of the people, and of fide- 
lity and respect for regal authority. In thus endeavouring 
to renew the chain of time, which fatal mistakes had in- 
terrupted, we have banished from our recollection, as 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 29 1 

would that we could efface from history, all the evils which, 
during our absence, have afflicted the country. Happy in 
again finding ourselves in the bosom of the great family, 
we know not how to reply to the love of which we receive 
so many proofs, but in pronouncing the words of peace 
and consolation. 

The dearest wish of our heart is that all Frenchmen may 
live as brothers, and that no bitter recollection may ever 
trouble the security which ought to follow the solemn act 
we this day accord them. 

Confident in our purpose, strong in our conscience, we 
engage, in presence of the assembly which hears us, to be 
faithful to this constitutional charter, reserving to ourselves 
to swear the maintenance thereof, with a new solemnity, 
before the altars of Him who weighs in the same scale the 
destinies of kings and nations. 

For these reasons, 

We have voluntarily, and by the free exercise of our 
royal authority, accorded, and do accord, make concession 
and octroi to our subjects, as well for ourselves as for 
our successors, and for ever, the constitutional charter 
which follows. 

Public Law of the French. 

Art. 1. The French are equal in the eye of the law, 
whatever in other respects, may be their titles and their 
rank. 

2. They contribute without distinction and in proportion 
to their means, to the burdens of the state. 

3. They are all equally admissible to civil and military 
employments. 

4. Their individual liberty is equally guaranteed, no 
person being liable to be prosecuted or arrested, except in 
the cases provided for by the law, and according to the 
forms which it prescribes. 

U2 



292 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

J 5. Everyone professes his religion with equalliberty, 
and obtains the same protection for his mode of worship. 

6. Nevertheless, the catholic, apostolic, and Roman re* 
Jigion, is the religion of the state. 

7. The ministers of the catholic, apostolic and Roman 
religion, and those of the other modes of christian worship, 
alone receive provision from the royal treasury. 

S. The French have a right to publish and print their 
opinions, conforming themselves to the laws necessary to 
restrain the abuse of this liberty. 

9. All kinds of property are inviolable, without any ex- 
ception as to that which is called national, the law making 
no difference between them. 

10. The state may require the sacrifice of a property, 
where the public interest, legally attested, calls for it, but 
with a previous indemnification. 

11. No one can be called to an account for the opinions 
and votes which he may have given down to the period of 
the restoration. The same oblivion is enjoined the' tribu- 
nals and citizens. 

12. The conscription is abolished. The mode of recruit- 
ing the land and naval forces is determined by a law. 

Forms relative to the Government of the King. 

13. The king's person is inviolable and sacred. His mi- 
nisters are responsible. The executive power belongs to 
the king alone. 

14. The king is supreme chief of the state, he commands 
the land and naval forces, declares war, makes treaties of 
peace, alliance and commerce, appoints to all employments 
in the public administration, and makes the regulations 
and ordinances necessary for the execution of the laws and 
security of the state. 

15. The legislative power is exercised collectively by the 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 293 

king, the chamber of peers, and the chamber of deputies of 
the departments. 

16. The king proposes laws. 

17. The proposition of a law is carried to the chamber 
of peers or to that of the deputies, at the king's option ; 
except laws for levying taxes, which must be addressed to 
the chamber of deputies first. 

18. Every law must be freely discussed and voted by a 
majority in each chamber. 

19. The chambers have the power of praying the king to 
propose a law on any subject whatever, and of pointing 
out what they are of opinion that the law should contain. 

20. This request may be made by either chamber after 
having been discussed in a secret committee ; but ten days 
must elapse before the chamber in which it originates can 
transmit it to the other chamber. 

21. If the proposition be adopted by the other chamber, 
it is laid before the king ; if rejected, it cannot be again 
brought forward the same session. 

22. The king alone sanctions and promulgates laws. 

23. The civil list is fixed, for the whole reign, by the first 
legislature assembled after the king's accession. 

Of the Chamber of Peers. 

24. The chamber of peers is an essential part of the le- 
gislative power. 

25. It is convoked by the king at the same time as the 
chamber of deputies. The session of one commences and 
finishes at the same time as that of the other. 

26. Every meeting of the chamber of peers which shall 
be held out of the time of session of the chamber of depu- 
ties, or which shall not be ordered by the king, is, of full 
right, unlawful and of no effect. 

27. The right of appointing the peers of France belongs 
to the king. Their number is unlimited : he may vary 



2#4 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

their dignities, nominate them for life, or render them he- 
reditary, according to his will # . 

28. The peers have admission into the chamber at 
twenty-five years of age, and a deliberative voice at thirty. 

29. The chancellor of France presides over the chamber 
of peers, and in his absence, a peer appointed by the 
king. 

30. The members of the royal family and the princes of 
the blood are peers by right of birth. They sit immedi- 
ately after the president ; but until twenty-five years of 
age have no deliberative voice. 

31. The princes cannot take their seat in the chamber 
unless by order of the king, expressed every session in a 
message ; and this on pain of having every thing done in 
their presence annulled. 

32. All the deliberations of the chamber of peers are 
secret. 

33. The chamber of peers takes cognizance of the crimes 
of high treason and of attempts against the safety of the 
state, which shall be defined by law. 

34. No peer can be arrested except by authority of the 
chamber, or tried on a criminal charge unless by that 
body. 

Of the Chamber of Deputies of the Departments. 

35. The chamber of deputies shall be composed of de- 
puties chosen by the electoral colleges, the organization of 
which shall be determined by law. 

36. Each department shall have the same number of 
deputies as it has hitherto had. 

* It is necessary to cite here the king's ordinance of the 19th of August, 
1815. Art. 1. The dignity of peer is, and shall remain hereditary from 
male to male, in the order of primogeniture, in the families of the peers 
who at present compose our chamber of peers. Art. 2. The same privi- 
lege is granted the peers whom we shall hereafter appoint. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 



295 



37. The deputies shall be elected for five years, and in 
such a manner that the chamber be renewed every year by 
one-fifth. 

38. No deputy can be admitted into the chamber, if he 
be not forty years of age, and pay a direct contribution of a 
thousand francs. 

39. If, however, the department should not contain fifty 
persons of the age required, paying at least a thousand 
francs in direct contributions, that number shall be com- 
pleted with the heaviest taxed under a thousand francs, 
who shall be equally eligible with the first. 

40. The electors who concur in the appointment of de- 
puties cannot exercise the right of suffrage, unless they 
pay a direct contribution of three hundred francs, and are 
thirty years of age. 

41. The presidents of electoral colleges shall be appoint- 
ed by the king, and be of right members of the college. 

42. Half the deputies at least shall be chosen from 
among the eligible persons who have their political domi- 
cil in the department. 

43. The president of the chamber of deputies is ap- 
pointed by the king from a list of five members presented 
by the chamber. 

44. The sittings of the chamber are public, but the de- 
mand of five members is sufficient for it to resolve itself 
into a secret committee. 

45. The chamber is divided into bureaux for discussing 
the projects presented to it by the king. 

46. No amendment can be made to a law, if it has not 
been proposed or consented to by the king, and if it has 
not been sent to and discussed in the bureaux. 

47. The chamber of deputies receives all propositions 
for taxes: it is not until these propositions have been ad- 
mitted that they can be carried to the chamber of peers. 

48. No tax can be established or collected unless it has 



296 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

been assented to by the two chambers, and sanctioned by 
the king*. 

49. Taxes on real property are granted for a year only. 
Indirect taxes may be voted for several years. 

50. The king convokes the two chambers every year : 
he prorogues them, and may dissolve that of the deputies, 
but in this case he must convoke a new one within three 
months. 

51. No bodily constraint can be laid on a member of the 
chamber during the session or within the six weeks which 
precede or follow it. 

52. No member of the chamber, during the continuance 
of the session, can be prosecuted or arrested for a criminal 
offence, except in the case of ftagrans delictum, until the 
chamber has consented to his prosecution. 

53. No petition can be addressed or presented to either 
chamber except in writing. The law interdicts its being 
carried up and presented at the bar in person. 

Of the Ministers. 

54. The ministers may be members of the chamber of 
peers or of the chamber of deputies. They have, moreover, 
admission into either chamber, and the privilege of being 
heard when they demand it. 

55. The chamber of deputies has the right of impeach- 
ing the ministers and of bringing them before the chamber 
of peers, which alone has the right of trying them. 

56. They cannot be impeached except for acts of trea- 
son or extortion. Particular laws shall specify this species 
of offence and determine the prosecution. 

Of the Judicial Order. 

51. All justice emanates from the king. It is adminis- 
tered in his name by judges whom he appoints and in- 
stitutes. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 297 

58. The judges appointed by the king are irremoveable. 

59. The courts and ordinary tribunals now in existence 
are preserved. Nothing shall be changed unless in virtue 
of a law. 

60. The existing institution of judges of commerce, is 
preserved. 

61. The office of judge of the peace is equally preserved. 
The judges of the peace, although appointed by the king, 
are not irremoveable. 

62. No one can be withdrawn from his natural judges. 

63. Extraordinary tribunals and commissions cannot 
therefore be created. Jurisdictions prevotal, should it be 
thought necessary to establish them, are not included under 
these denominations. 

64. In criminal affairs the discussion shall be public, 
unless indeed this publicity be dangerous to order and mo- 
rality, in which case the tribunal declares it by a judgment 
to that effect. 

65. The institution of Juries is preserved. The changes 
which from longer experience may appear necessary, shall 
be effected by means of a law. 

66. The punishment of confiscation of goods is abo- 
lished, and cannot be restored. 

67. The king has the right of granting pardon, as well 
as that of commuting punishment. 

68. The civil code and the laws actually existing, which 
are not contrary to the present charter, remain in vigour 
until they are legally repealed. 

Particular Rights guaranteed by the State*, 

69. The military in active service, the officers and soldiers 
in retirement, the widows, officers and soldiers pensioned, 
shall preserve their rank, honours, and pensions. 

* See lib. 2, tit. 2, ch. 4, and especially ch. 59 of the code of criminal 
instruction. 



298 CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER. 

70. The public debt is guaranteed. Every species of en- 
gagement contracted by the state with its creditors is 
inviolable. 

71. The old nobility recover their titles. The new pre- 
serve their's. The king makes nobles at his will ; but he 
grants them ranks and honours only, without any exemption 
from the burdens and duties of society. 

72. The legion of honour is preserved. The king deter- 
mines the internal regulations and decoration thereof. 

73. The colonies shall be governed by particular laws and 
regulations. 

74. The king and his successors, at the ceremony of their 
coronation, shall take an oath faithfully to observe the pre- 
sent constitutional charter. 

Miscellaneous Articles. 

75. The deputies of the departments of France, who oc- 
cupied seats in the legislative body at its last adjournment, 
shall continue to sit in the chamber of deputies, until 
replaced. 

76. The first renewal of a fifth of the chamber of de- 
puties shall take place, at the latest, in the year 1816, ac- 
cording to the order established among the series. 

We ordain that the present constitutional charter, after 
having been laid before the senate and legislative body, 
conformably to our proclamation of the 2d of May, shall be 
immediately sent to the chamber of peers and to that of the 
deputies. 

Given at Paris, in the year of grace, one thousand eight 
hundred and fourteen, and of our reign the nineteenth. 

Signed, LOUIS. 
(And lower down.) 

L'Abbe' de Montesquiou. 



i 299 
ORGANIC LAWS. 



ELECTIONS*. 

Law of the 5th February , 1817. 

Art. 1. Every Frenchman, enjoying civil and political 
rights, of the full age of thirty years, and paying three 
hundred francs in direct contribution, is called upon to 
concur in the election of the deputies of the department in 
which he has his political domicil. 

2. To complete the amount of contributions necessary to 
the rank of elector or eligible person, every Frenchman 
counts the direct contributions paid by him throughout the 
kingdom ; the husband those of his wife, although their 
effects should not be common to each other ; the father 
those levied on the property of his children, under age, of 
which he has the enjoyment. 

3. The political domicil of every Frenchman is in the 
department where he has his real domicil. Nevertheless, 
he shall be at liberty to transfer it to any other department 
where he pays direct contributions, on condition of his 
making, six months previous to such transfer, an express 
declaration before the prefect of the department where he 
has his political domicil at the time, and before the prefect 
of the department to which he wishes to transfer it. 

A change of real or political domicil shall not confer the 
exercise of the political right relating to the election of 
deputies, except on such as have, during the four ante- 
cedent years, exercised it in another department. This 
exception does not hold good in the event of the dissolution 
of the chamber. 

4. No one can exercise the rights of an elector in two 
departments. 

* See Art, 35 of the Charter. 



300 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



5. The prefect of every department shall frame a list of 
electors, which shall be printed and posted up. 

He shall decide provisionally on the protests which are 
made against this list, without prejudice to legal redress, 
which shall not, however, suspend the elections. 

6. Difficulties relating to the enjoyment of the civil or po- 
litical rights of the person protesting, shall be definitively 
judged by the royal courts : those which concern his con- 
tributions or political domicil shall be decided by the 
council of state. 

7. There is only one electoral college in each department. 
It is composed of all the electors of the department, and 
appoints immediately the deputies thereof to the chamber. 

8. The electoral colleges are convoked by the king: they 
assemble in the chief place of the department, or in such 
other town of the department, as the king may appoint. 
They cannot engage in any other business than the election 
of deputies ; they are forbidden every kind of discussion or 
resolution. 

9. In departments where the number of electors does not 
exceed six hundred, they form one assembly only. In those 
which contain more than six hundred, the electoral college 
is divided into sections, of which each cannot contain less 
than three hundred electors. Each section concurs directly 
in the appointment of all the deputies which the college 
has to elect. 

10. The bureau of each electoral college is composed of a 
president appointed by the king, of four scrutators, and one 
secretary. The four scrutators and secretary are appointed 
by the college — the scrutators by a single ballot for all, the 
secretary by individual ballot, and both by a majority of 
votes. 

In the electoral colleges which are divided into sections, 
the bureau thus formed is attached to the first section of 
the college. 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



301 



The bureau of each of the other sections is composed of 
a vice-president appointed by the king, of four scrutators 
and a secretary, chosen in the manner prescribed above. 

At the opening of the college and sections of college, the 
president and vice-presidents appoint the provisional bu- 
reau, composed of four scrutators and a secretary. 

11. The president and vice-presidents have alone the 
police of the electoral college, or sections of college, over 
which they preside. 

Three at least of the members composing the bureau 
shall be always present. 

The bureau judges provisionally, all difficulties arising on 
the measures of the college or section, subject to the final 
decision of the chamber of deputies. 

12. The session of the colleges cannot extend beyond ten 
days. One sitting only can be held each day : it opens at 
eight in the morning and closes after the return of the 
ballot. 

13. The electors vote by bulletin from a list which con- 
tains, at every round of balloting, as many names as there 
are appointments to make. 

The name, qualification, and domicil, of every elector 
who deposits his bulletin, shall be inscribed by the secre- 
tary, or one of the scrutators present, on a list, in order to 
show the number of voters. 

The member of the bureau who inscribes the name, qua- 
lification, and domicil of the elector, shall inscribe his own 
name on the margin. 

There are only three rounds of balloting. 

Each ballot, after it has remained open at least six hours, 
is closed at three in the evening, and the return made be- 
fore the meeting breaks up. 

The return of the votes in each section is passed and 
signed by the bureau. It is immediately carried by the 



302 ORGANIC LAWS. 

vice-president to the bureau of the college, which, in pre- 
sence of the vice-presidents of all the sections, makes a 
general census of the votes. 

The result of each round of balloting is immediately 
made public. 

14. No one is elected at either of the two first rounds of 
balloting unless he has in his favour at least the fourth, 
plus one, of the votes of all the members who compose 
the college, and the moiety, plus one, of the suffrages re- 
turned. 

15. After the two first rounds of balloting, if there re- 
main any nominations to make, the bureau of the college 
draws up, and makes public a list of the persons who, at 
the second round, have gained the most suffrages. It con- 
tains twice as many names as there are yet deputies to 
elect. 

At the third round of balloting, votes can be given to 
those only whose names are placed on this list. 

Those candidates are returned who have the greatest 
number of votes in their favour. 

16. In all cases where the number of votes is equal, the 
preference shall be given to age. 

17. The prefects and general officers commanding the 
military divisions and departments, cannot be elected de- 
puties in the departments in which they exercise their 
functions. 

18. When, during the continuance, or in the interval of 
the sessions of the chambers, the deputation of a depart- 
ment becomes incomplete, the vacancy is filled up by the 
electoral college of the department to which the deputation 
belongs. 

19. The deputies to the chamber receive neither provi- 
sion nor indemnity. 

20. The laws, decrees and regulations on the mode of 



ORGANIC LAWS. 303 

making elections, anterior to the present law, are re- 
pealed. 

21. All formalities relative to the execution of the pre- 
sent law shall be regulated by the king's ordinances. 

Law of the 25th March, 1818. 

Art. 1. No one can be a member of the chamber of de- 
puties, who on the day of his election is under forty years 
of age, and does not pay a thousand francs in direct con- 
tribution ; saving the case provided for by Art. 39 of the 
charter. 

2. A deputy elected by more than one department, 
shall be obliged to declare his choice to the chamber, within 
a month from the opening of the first session after his 
election : and in default of making his choice within that 
period, it shall be decided by lot, to which department the 
said deputy shall belong. 

Law of the 29th June, 1820. 

Art. 1. There is in every department an electoral col- 
lege of department, and electoral colleges of arrondisse- 
ment. 

Nevertheless, all the electors shall assemble in one col- 
lege, in those departments which, on the 5th February 
1817, had only the nomination of one deputy ; in those in 
which the number of electors does not exceed three hun- 
dred ; and in those which, divided into five arrondissements 
under sub-prefects, do not contain more than four hundred 
electors. 

2. The colleges of department are composed of the 
electors who are the heaviest taxed, being in number 
equal to one-fourth the whole number of electors in the 
department. 

The colleges of department return one hundred and 



304 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



seventy-two new deputies, conformably to the table an- 
nexed to the present law. They shall proceed to this elec- 
tion for the session of 1820. 

The nomination of two hundred and fifty-eight deputies, 
of which number the chamber is at present composed, is 
assigned to the colleges of electoral arrondissements ; the 
said colleges forming in each department in pursuance of 
Art. 1, saving the exceptions laid down in the second clause 
of the same article. 

These colleges appoint each a deputy. They are com- 
posed of all the electors who have their political domicil 
in one of the communes included in the circumscription of 
each electoral arrondissement. This circumscription shall 
be determined provisionally, for each department, with the 
advice of the general council, by the ordinances of the 
king ; the said ordinances being submitted to the approba- 
tion of the legislature at the next session. A fifth of the 
present deputies who are to be renewed, shall be chosen by 
the colleges of arrondissement. 

For the following sessions, the departments whose turn 
it will be to renew their deputation, shall appoint them 
wholly after the basis laid down in the present article. 

3. A list of the electors of each college shall be printed 
and posted up, one month before the opening of the elec- 
toral colleges. This list shall contain the quota and de- 
scription of contributions paid by each elector, indicating 
the departments in which they are paid. 

4. To constitute a person an elector or eligible as a de- 
puty, direct contributions shall not be taken into account, 
unless the real property shall have been possessed, the 
location made, the patent taken out, and the trade subject 
to the patent exercised, one year before the period in which 
the electoral college is convoked. Those who enjoy rights 
acquired before the publication of the present law, and 



ORGANIC LAWS. 305 

the possessor by a title of succession, are alone excepted 
from this condition. 

5. The contributions on real property, paid by a widow, 
are reckoned for such son, and in default of a son, for such 
grandson, and in default of son and grandson, for such son- 
in-law, as she chooses to appoint. 

6. In proceeding to the election of deputies, each elector 
secretly writes his vote in the bureau, or causes it to be 
written by another elector of his choice, on a bulletin fur- 
nished to him for this purpose by the president : he returns 
his bulletin, written and folded up, to that officer, and it is 
by him deposited in the urn. 

7. No one can be elected deputy at the two first rounds 
of balloting, if he does not unite in his favour at least a 
third, plus one, of the votes of all the members composing 
the college, and a moiety, plus one, of the suffrages re- 
turned. 

8. Sub-prefects cannot be elected deputies by colleges of 
electoral arrondissements, which contain the whole or a 
part of the electors of the arrondissement of their sub-pre- 
fecture. 

9. Places vacant by the death or resignation of deputies, 
shall be filled up by the colleges which appointed them. 

In case of the decease or resignation of any one who is 
at present a member of the chamber, before it fails to the 
turn of the department to which he belongs to renew its 
deputation, such member shall be replaced by one of the 
colleges of arrondissement of that department. 

The chamber shall determine by lot, the order in which 
the electoral colleges of arrondissement shall proceed to fill 
up the casual vacancies, until the first complete renewal of 
each deputation. * 

10. In case of vacancy by choice, decease, resignation 
or otherwise, the electoral colleges shall be convoked 

Vol. I. X 



306 ORGANIC LAWS. 

within the space of two months, for proceeding to a new 
election. 

11. Such provisions of the laws of 5th of February 1817, 
and 25th of March 1818, as are not annulled by the pre- 
sent law, shall continue to be executed, and shall be held 
common to the electoral colleges of department and of 
arrondissement. 



30' 



TABLE OF THE NUMBER OF DEPUTIES RETURNED 
BY EACH DEPARTMENT. 



DEPARTMENTS. 



Ain 

Aisne .... 
Allier .... 
Alpes (Basses) . 
Alpes (Hautes) . 
Alpes Maritimes 
Ardeche . . . 
Ardennes . . . 
Arriege . . . 
Aube .... 
Aude .... 
Aveyron . . . 
Bouches-du- Rh&ne 
Calvados . . . 
Cuntal .... 
Charente . . . 
Charente-inferiPure 
Cher . . „ 
Correze 

Corse (Corsica) 
Cote-d'Or. . 
Cotes du Nord 
Creuse . . 
Dordogne . 
Doubs . . 
Drome . • 
Dyle. . . 
Escant . . 
Eure . . 
Eure-et-Loire 
Finistere 
Forets . 
Gard . 
Garonne (Haute 
Gers 
Gironde 
Golo. . 
Herault 
Ille-et-Vi'aine 
Indre . 
Indre-et-Loire 
Isere . . 
Jemmapes 
Jura . . . 
Landes , . 
Lemau . . 
Liamone . 
Loir-et-Cher 
Loire . . 



10 



— - 6 



OBSERVATIONS. 



1. The departments which 
have no deputies assigned to 
them in the second, third, 
and fourth columns, have 
ceased to form part of 
France since 1814. 

2. In order to ascertain the 
number of deputies now re- 
turned by each department, 
we must add together the 
number assigned to each in 
the third and fourth columns. 
172 deputies are elected in 
pursuance of the law of the 
2'Jth June 1820, and 258 in 
pursuance of the ordinance 
of 1816 ; so that the chamber 
is at present composed of 
430 members. 

3. For the departments of 
Golo and Liamone, see Cor- 
sica. 



X 2 



308 



DEPARTMENTS. 



Loire (Haute) 
Loire Inftirieure 
Loiret . . . 
Lot ... . 
Lot-et-Garonne 
Losere . . . 
Lys .... 
Maine- et-Loire 
Manche . . 
Marne . . . 
Marne (Haute) 
Mayenne . . 
Meurthe . . 
Meuse . . . 
Meuse-Inferieure 
Mont-Blanc . 
Mont-Tonnere 
Morbihan . • 
Moselle . . 
Nethes (Deux) 
Nievre . . . 
Nord . . . 
Oise .... 
Orne . . . 
Ourthe . . . 
Pas-de-Calais 
Puy-de-D6me 
Pyrenees (Basses) 
Pyrenees (H^utcs 
Pyrenees-Orientales 
Rhin (Bas) . 
Rhin(Haut) . 
Rhiu-et-Moselle 
Rhone . . . 
Roer .... 
Sambre-et-Meuse 
Saone (Haute) 
Saone-et-Loire 
Sarre . . . 
Sarthe . . . 
Seine . . . 
Seine Inferieure 
Seine-et-Marne 
Seine-et-Oise . 
Sevres (Deux) 
Somme . . . 
Tarn .... 
Tarn-et-Garonne 
Var .... 
Vancluse . . 
Vendee . . . 
Vienne . . . 
Vienne (Haute) 
Vosges . . . 
Vonne 




300 



«^5 



if 



606 258 



OBSERVATIONS. 



172 



309 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS* 

LAW ON THE SUPPRESSION OF CRIMES AND DELICTS, COMMITTED BY 

WAY OF THE PRESS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS OF PUBLICATION. 

17 OF MAY 1819. 

Chap. I. — On Public Incitement to Crimes and Delicts. 

Art. I. Whoever, either by discourses, cries or menaces, 
uttered in public places or resorts, or by printed or written 
papers, designs, engravings, paintings or emblems, sold or 
distributed, put to sale or exposed in public p] aces or resorts, 
or by placards and bills exposed to the view of the public, 
shall have incited the author or authors of any action en- 
titled a crime or delict, to the commission thereof, shall be 
reputed as an accomplice, and punished as such. 

2. Whoever, by any one of the means laid down in Art. 
1, shall have incited to the commission of one or more 
crimes, although the said incitement should not have been 
followed by any consequence, shall be punished by a term 
of imprisonment which shall not be less than three months, 
nor more than five years, and by a fine which shall not be 
less than fifty francs, nor more than six thousand. 

3. Whoever, by any one of the aforesaid means, shall 
have incited to the commission of one or more delicts, 
although the said incitement may not have been followed 
by. any consequence, shall be punished by a term of im- 
prisonment of from three days to two years, and with a fine 
of thirty to four thousand francs, or with one of the said 
punishments only, according to circumstances : save in such 
cases as the law shall inflict a less severe punishment on the 
perpetrator of the crime ; in which case the same punish- 
ment shall be inflicted on the author of the incitement. 

4. Every formal attack by one of the means laid down in 

* See Art. S of the Charter, 



310 



ORGANIC LAWS; 



Art. 1, levelled either against the inviolability of the king's 
person, against the order of succession to the throne, or 
against the constitutional authority of the king and the 
chambers, shall be reputed an incitement to crime, and 
punished with the penalties prescribed by Art. 2. 

5. The following actions shall be reputed incitements to 
delicts, and punished with the penalties laid down in Art. 3. 

1st, All seditious cries publicly uttered, except such as 
fall under the provisions of Art. 4. 

2d. The carrying away or degradation of the public signs 
of the royal authority, done through hatred or contempt of 
that authority. 

3d. The wearing in public any external rallying sign, not 
authorized by the king or by the regulations of police. 

4th. Every formal attack, by one of the means laid down 
in Art. 1. upon the rights guaranteed by Art. 5 and 9 of the 
constitutional charter. 

6. The inciting disobedience to the laws by one of the 
same means, shall be also punished with the penalties laid 
down in Art. 3. 

7. The laws which punish the inciting to, and taking 
part in other actions than those of publication provided for 
by the present iaw, remain in force. 

Chap. II. — Of Outrages against Public and Religious Morals, 
and against Good Manners, 

8. Every outrage against public and religious morals, or 
good manners, by any one of the means laid down in Art. 1, 
shall be punished with a term of imprisonment of from one 
month to a year, and with a fine of from sixteen to five 
hundred francs. 

Chap. III. — Of Public Offences against the Person of the 

King. 

9. Whoever, by any one of the means mentioned in Art. 1 
of the present law, shall have rendered himself guilty of 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 



311 



an offence {offense) against the person of the king, shall be 
punished with a term of imprisonment which shall not be 
less than six months nor exceed five years, and with a fine 
which shall not be less than five hundred francs, nor more 
than ten thousand. 

The guilty party, moreover, shall be liable to be inter- 
dicted from the exercise of all, or any part of the rights 
mentioned in Art. 42 of the penal code, during a period of 
time equal to that of the imprisonment to which he shall 
have been condemned. This time shall begin counting from 
the day in which the culpable person shall have undergone 
his punishment. 

Chap. IV. — Of Public Offences against the Members of the 
Royal Family, the Chambers, the Sovereigns and Heads of 
Foreign Governments. 

10. An offence by any one of the means mentioned in 
Art. 1, against the members of the royal family, shall be 
punished with a term of imprisonment varying from one 
month to three years, and with a fine of from one hundred 
to five thousand francs. 

11. An offence, committed by one of the same means, 
against one or both of the chambers, shall be punished with 
a term of imprisonment of from one month to three years, 
and with a fine of from one hundred to five thousand 
francs. 

12. An offence committed by one of the same means, 
against the persons of sovereigns or heads of foreign go- 
vernments, shall be punished with a term of imprisonment 
varying from one month to three years, and with a fine of 
from one hundred to five thousand francs. 

Chap. V. — Of Public Defamation and Injury. 

13. Every allegation or imputation of an action tending 
to wound the honour or consideration of the person or body 



312 ORGANIC LAWS. 

to whom the action is imputed, is a defamation (diffama- 
tion.) 

Every outrageous expression, term of contempt or invec- 
tive, which does not include the imputation of any action, 
is an injury {injure.) 

.. 14. Acts of defamation and injuries committed by any of 
the means mentioned in Art. 1. of the present law, shall be 
punished according to the following distinctions. 

15. Acts of defamation or injuries levelled against the 
courts, tribunals, or other constituted bodies, shall be 
punished by a term of imprisonment varying from fifteen 
days to two years, and with a fine of from fifty to four 
thousand francs. 

16. An act of defamation levelled against any depository 
or agent of public authority, on account of circumstances 
relating to his functions, shall be punished by a term of 
imprisonment varying from eight days to eighteen months, 
and by a fine of from fifty to three thousand francs. 

In this case, the imprisonment and fine may be in- 
flicted together, or separately, according to circumstances. 

17. Acts of defamation levelled against the ambassadors, 
ministers plenipotentiary, envoys, charges d'affaires, or 
other diplomatic agents accredited to the king, shall be 
punished by a term of imprisonment varying from eight 
days to eighteen months, and by a fine of from fifty to three 
thousand francs, or with one of the said punishments only, 
according to circumstances. 

18. Acts of defamation levelled against individuals, shall 
be punished by a term of imprisonment varying from five days 
to a year, and by a fine of from twenty-five to two thousand 
francs, or with one of the said penalties only, according to 
circumstances. 

19. Injuries levelled against persons designated by Art. 
16 and 17 of the present law, shall be punished by a term 
of imprisonment varying from five days to a year, and by a 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 313 

fine of from twenty-five to two thousand francs, or with one 
of these penalties only, according to circumstances. Injuries 
against individuals shall be punished by a fine of from six- 
teen to five hundred francs. 

20. Nevertheless, the injury which does not include the 
imputation of a determinate vice, or which is not public, 
shall continue subject to the punishments of simple police. 

Chap. VI. — General Dispositions. 

21. The speeches delivered in either of the two chambers, 
the reports and all other pieces printed by order of the said 
chambers, shall not afford room for any action. 

22. The accurate report of the public sittings of the 
chamber of deputies, when given with fidelity in the public 
journals, shall not afford room for any action. 

23. Speeches delivered, or writings produced before the 
tribunals shall not afford room for any action for defama- 
tion or injury. Nevertheless, the judges, seized of the 
cause, determining upon its merits, shall have power to pro- 
nounce the suppression of injurious or defamatory writings, 
and to condemn the parties concerned, to damages and costs. 

The judges also, under similar circumstances, shall have 
the power of laying injunctions on the advocates and minis- 
terial officers, and even of suspending them from the exer- 
cise of their functions. 

The term of such suspension shall not exceed six months. 
In case of repetition it shall not be less than one year, nor 
more than five. 

Acts of defamation foreign to the cause shall, however, 
be liable either to a public action, or to the civil action of 
the parties, when the right of bringing such action shall 
have been reserved to them by the tribunals, and in all 
cases, to a civil action by a third party. 

24. The printers of writings of which the authors shall 
be brought to trial in pursuance of the present law, and 



314 ORGANIC LAWS. 

who shall have fulfilled the obligations prescribed by Title 
11 of the law of the 21 Oct. 1814, shall not be liable to be 
called to an account for the simple fact of printing these 
writings, unless they have acted knowingly, as it is express- 
ed in Art. 60 of the penal code, which defines the act of 
participation. 

25. In case of repetition of the crimes and delicts pro- 
vided for by the present law, there shall be room for an 
aggravation of the penalties enacted in Chap. IV. Book 1 
of the penal code. 

26. The Articles 102, 217, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 
374, 375, 377 of the penal code, and the law of 9 Nov. 
1815, are abrogated. 



LAW RELATIVE TO THE PROSECUTION AND TRIAL OF CRIMES AND 

DELICTS COMMITTED BY WAY OF THE PRESS, OR BY ANY OTHER 

MEANS OF PUBLICATION. 26 MAY, 1819. 



Art. 1 . The prosecution of crimes and delicts committed 
by way of the press, or by any other means of publication, 
shall be carried on ex-officio, and at the request of the pub- 
lic ministry, subject to the following modifications. 

2. In the case of an offence against the chambers or one 
of them, by means of publication, the prosecution shall 
take place only so far as it is authorized by the chamber 
which considers itself injured. 

3. In case of the same delict against the person of a 
sovereign or chief of a foreign government, the prosecution 
shall not take place except on the complaint or at the re- 
quest of the sovereign or chief of the government which 
believes itself injured. 

4. In the case of defamation or injury levelled against 
the courts, tribunals or other constituted bodies, a prosecu- 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 315 

tion shall not take place except in pursuance of a resolution 
of the said bodies, adopted in a general assembly, demand- 
ing such prosecution. 

5. In the case of the same offences against any depositary 
or agent of public authority, against any foreign diplomatic 
agent, accredited to the king, or against any individual, 
the prosecution shall not take place except on the complaint 
of the party affecting to be injured. 

6. The public party in its requisition, if it prosecute 
officially, or the plaintiff in his complaint, shall be obliged 
to describe circumstantially the provocations, attacks, of- 
fences, outrages, acts of defamation, or injuries, on account 
of which the prosecution is instituted, and this, on pain of 
nullity of the proceedings. 

7. Immediately after he has received the aforesaid requi- 
sition or complaint, the judge of instruction shall have 
power to order the seizure of the writings, printed papers, 
placards, designs, engravings, pictures, emblems, or other 
instruments of publication. 

. The order for seizure and the proces-verbal thereof, shall 
be notified, within three days of the said seizure, to the 
person on whom the seizure has been made, on pain of 
nullity of the proceedings. 

8. Within eight days of the said notification, the judge 
of instruction is obliged to make his report to the chamber 
of the council, which proceeds in conformity to the code of 
criminal instruction, Book I. Chapter IX ; saving the pro- 
visions hereafter laid down. 

9. If the chamber of the council are unanimously of opi- 
nion that there is no room to prosecute, it orders the 
removal of the seizure. 

10. In the contrary case, or in the case of exception 
on the part of the king's attorney or of the civil party, 
against the decision of the chamber of the council, the 
instruments are transmitted without delay to the attor- 



316 ORGANIC LAWS. 

ney-general of the royal court, who is bound within five days 
after he receives them, to make his report to the chamber 
of accusation, and this chamber within three days of the 
said report, is obliged to pronounce its decision. 

11. If the chamber of the council of the tribunal of first 
instance, within ten days from the notification of the proces- 
verbal of seizure, shall have failed to pronounce its deci- 
sion, the said seizure shall be, of full right, non-suited. It 
shall be equally so, if the royal court shall have failed to 
pronounce on this same seizure within ten days from the 
deposit, at its registry, of the request which the party 
seized is authorized to present, in support of its appeal, 
against the ordinance of the chamber of the council. All 
the holders of the objects seized shall be obliged to restore 
them to the proprietor, on the simple exhibition of a certi- 
ficate from the respective registers, attesting that there has 
been no judgment or decision within the time above pre- 
scribed. > 

The registers, under penalty of a fine of three hundred 
francs, and without prejudice to such damages and cost as 
the case may give occasion for, shall be bound to deliver 
this certificate on the first demand. Whenever the affair 
amounts only to a simple delict, the non-suiting of the 
seizure shall involve that of the public action. 

12. In cases where the formalities prescribed by the laws 
and regulations concerning the deposit have been fulfilled, 
the process at the suit of the public minister cannot be car- 
ried on, except before the judges of the place in which the 
deposit was made, or of that of the residence of the accused. 

In case of contravention to the provisions cited above 
concerning the deposit, the process can be carried on either 
before the judge of the place in which the accused resides, 
or in the place where the writings and other instruments of 
publication have been seized. In all cases, the prosecution 



LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 317 

at the suit of the complaining party may be carried before 
the judges of his domicil, when the publication has taken 
place there. 

13. Crimes and delicts committed by way of the press, 
or by any other means of publication, with the exception 
of such as are designated in the following article, shall be 
returned by the chamber of accusation of the royal court, 
to the court of assizes, to be tried at the session next 
ensuing. The writ of return shall be immediately notified 
to the accused. 

14. Delicts of verbal defamation or verbal injury 
against any person, and those of defamation or injury, by 
any means of publication whatever, against individuals, 
shall be tried by the tribunals of correctional police, saving 
the cases assigned to the tribunals of simple police. 

15. The chamber of the council of the tribunal of first 
instance in the judgment of prevention, and the cham- 
ber of accusation of the royal court, in the writ of 
return to the court of assizes, shall be obliged to describe 
circumstantially, and declare the nature of the facts, on 
account of which the said prevention or return is pro- 
nounced ; and this on pain of nullity of the said judgment 
or writ. 

16. When, after an order has been issued for bringing a 
person to trial for crimes committed by means of publica- 
tion, the said person cannot be apprehended, or does not 
present himself, proceedings shall be carried on against 
him in the manner prescribed by the code of criminal in- 
struction, Book II, Title IV, Chapter on Contumacy. 

17. When the return to the court of assizes is made for 
offences specified in the present law, if the accused be not 
present on the day fixed for trial by the president's ordi- 
nance, duly notified to the accused or at his domicil at 
least ten days before the said day of trial, with an allowance 



318 ORGANIC LAWS. 

of one day for every five myriametres of distance, he shall 
be judged by default. The court shall decide without the 
assistance or intervention of jurymen, as well on the public 
action as on the civil action. 

18. The accused shall have liberty to form opposition to 
the judgment by default, within ten days after the said 
sentence has been notified to him or at his domicil, with an 
allowance of one day for every five myriametres of distance, 
provided that he notify his opposition as well to the public- 
ministry as to the civil party. 

The accused shall support, without redress, the costs 
attending the drawing up and notifying the judgment by 
default and the opposition, as well as the expense of the 
witnesses subpoenaed to the trial of the opposition. 

19. The accused, w r ithin five days from that on which 
the opposition is notified, shall be obliged to lodge at the 
register's office a request, tending to obtain from the pre- 
sident of the court of assizes an ordinance for fixing a day 
for the trial of the opposition : this ordinance shall fix a 
day at the assizes next ensuing : it shall be intimated, at 
the request of the public ministry, as well to the accused 
as to the plaintiff, with subpoenas for the day appointed, at 
least ten days before the day of trial. In default of the 
accused fulfilling the formalities imposed on him by the 
present article, or of appearing in person, or by his attor- 
ney, on the day fixed by the ordinance, the opposition shall 
be reputed never to have been made, and the judgment by 
default shall be final. 

20. No one shall be admitted to prove the truth of the 
defamatory facts, unless in the case of imputation against 
the depositaries or agents of authority, or against persons 
who have acted in a public character, for matters relating 
to their functions. In this case, the facts can be proved 
before the court of assizes by ail the means in ordinary 



LIBERTY OP THE PRESS. 319 

practice, subject to a contrary proof by the same means. 
Proof of the imputed facts places the author of the impu- 
tation out of the reach of all punishment, without preju- 
dice to the penalties pronounced against every injury which 
may not necessarily depend on the same facts. 

21. The accused who wishes to be admitted to prove the 
truth of the facts in the case provided for by the preceding 
article, shall be obliged within eight days from and after 
the notification of the order of return to the court of 
assizes, or of opposition to the judgment by default deli- 
vered against him, to make known to the plaintiff; 

1st. The facts, plainly expressed and designated by their 
proper title, in this judgment, of which he intends to prove 
the truth ; 

2d. A copy of the instruments ; 

3d. The names, professions, and abodes of the witnesses 
through whom he means to establish his proof. 

This communication shall contain a choice of domicil 
near the court of assizes ; the whole on pain of being 
reputed to have failed in his proof. 

22. The plaintiff, within the eight days following, shall 
be obliged to communicate to the accused, at the domicil 
chosen by him, a copy of the instruments, and the names, 
professions, and residences of the witnesses, through whom 
he means to establish the contrary proof ; the whole equally 
on pain of failure. 

. 23. The plaintiff, in a case of defamation or injury, may 
bring forward witnesses in proof of his moral character : 
the names, professions, and abodes of these witnesses shall 
be notified to the accused, or at his domicil, at least one 
day before the hearing. 

The accused shall not be permitted to produce witnesses 
against the moral character of the plaintiff. 

24. The plaintiff, immediately after the order of return, 
shall be obliged to chose a domicil near the court of assizes, 



320 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



and to notify this choice to the accused, and to the public 
ministry; in default of which all notifications made at the 
registry of the court shall be held valid and as if made to 
the said plaintiff. When the accused is under arrest, all 
notices, to be reputed valid, must be communicated to him 
in person. 

25. When the facts imputed are punishable by law, and 
proceedings are commenced at the suit of the public mi- 
nistry, or the author of the imputation has denounced 
these facts, the prosecution and trial of the offence of 
defamation shall be, in the mean while, suspended. 

26. Every sentence of condemnation against the authors 
or accomplices of crimes and delicts, committed by way of 
publication, shall ordain the suppression or destruction of 
the objects seized, or of all those which can be ultimately 
seized, in the whole or in part, according as this shall 
appear necessary for effecting the object of the condem- 
nation. 

The printing or advertizing the sentence may be ordered 
at the cost of the convicted party. 

These sentences shall be rendered public in the same 
form as the judgments importing declaration of absence. 

27. Whoever, after the condemnation of a writing, 
design or engraving is reputed known, by the publication 
of such condemnation in the forms prescribed by the pre- 
ceding article, shall reprint, sell, or distribute them, shall 
undergo the maximum of the penalty to which the author 
may have subjected himself. 

28. Every person accused of an offence committed by 
means of the jiress, or by any other means of publication, 
against whom an order of deposit or of arrest has been 
decreed, shall obtain provisional liberty on finding security. 
The security to be exacted from the accused shall not 
exceed double the maximum of the fine pronounced by the 
law against the offence which is imputed to him. 



LIBERTY OP THE PRESS. 321 

29. The time within which a public aetion against crimes 
and delicts committed by means of the press, or by any 
other means of publication, can be brought, shall be 
limited to six current months, counting from the day on 
which the act of publication which gives rise to the prose- 
cution, took place. 

To render effective this limitation of six months, the 
publication of a writing must be preceded by the deposit 
and the declaration that the editor intends to publish it. 

If within this interval, an act of prosecution or instruc- 
tion has been commenced, the public action shall not be 
subject to limitation until after the lapse of a year, count- 
ing from the last act, with regard even to the persons who 
may not be implicated in these acts of instruction or 
prosecution. 

Nevertheless, in the case of an offence against the 
chambers, the term of delay shall not count during their 
recess. 

The right of bringing a civil action shall not, in any 
case, be limited to a less period than three years, counting 
from the fact of publication. 

30. Delicts committed by way of the press or by any 
other means of publication, and which should not be yet 
tried, shall be subject to trial according to the forms pre- 
scribed by the present law. 

31. The law of 28 February, 1817, is repealed. 

The provisions of the code of criminal instruction which 
are not annulled by the present law, shall continue in 
force. 



Vol. i. 



322 



LAW RELATIVE TO THE PUBLICATION OF JOURNALS 
OR PERIODICAL WRITINGS*. 9 June, 1819. 



Art. 1. The proprietors or editors of every journal or 
periodical writing devoted in the whole or part to news or 
political matters, and appearing either on a fixed day, or 

* Ordinance of the king- concerning- the execution of the law relative to 
the publication of journals or periodical writings, of the 9th of June, 1819. 

Art. 1. The editor of a journal or periodical writing- of the nature of 
those designated in Art. 1 of the law of this day, who may wish to furnish 
the security prescribed by law in rentes, (interest or dividends on stock,) 
shall declare to the judiciary ag-ent of the royal treasury that he gives the 
inscription (certificate of credit on the great book of the public debt,) of 
which he is proprietor, for the security of his undertaking. The instru- 
ment of security between the judiciary agent and the proprietor of the 
inscription, shall be two-fold. 

The inscription given for security shall be lodged at the central chest of 
the royal treasury. The money which falls due thereon shall continue to 
be paid on the presentation of a ticket delivered by the judiciary agent. 

When the security is furnished in departmental inscription, the director 
of the registry, for the department to the auxiliary book of which the 
rente belongs, shall discharge the functions assigned above to the judiciary 
agent : the inscription shall be lodged in the chest of the receiver of the 
domains in the chief town. 

The same formalities must be observed by every proprietor of a rente, 
who declares it to be given as security for the proprietor of a journal. 

2. Every inscription whether direct or departmental, which is given as 
security, must be certified as valid for security (visee pour cautionnement,) 
either by the director of the great book, or by the receiver-general, before 
it is presented to the judiciary agent or to the director of the registry, in 
support of the declaration required in the preceding article. 

3. When the amount of the security has been either deposited in the 
chest of assignments, or furnished in rentes, the editor or proprietor shall 
make before the prefect of the department, or at Paris, before the prefect 
of police, the declaration prescribed in Article 1, Clause 1, of the law. 
He shall produce at the same time, either the receipt of the chest of 
assignments, or an instrument attesting that he has given security in 
rentes. 

The prefect shall immediately grant a certificate in proof of the decla- 
ration, and of the security having been given. The publication of the 
journal or periodical writing may commence immediately after. 

4. The transmission of each number or livraison of the journal, or 



LIBERTY OP THE PRESS. 323 

by livraison and irregularly, but more than once per month, 
shall be obliged ; 

1st. To make a declaration indicating the name of at 
least one proprietor or responsible editor, his residence, 
and the press duly authorized, at which the journal or 
periodical writing is to be printed ; 

periodical writing 1 , when published, required by Art. 5 of the law, shall be 
made at Paris, to the prefecture of police. 

5. On the rendering- of the judgment or sentence which, in default of 
the condemned party having- discharg-ed the amount of the condemnations 
pronounced ag-ainst it within the time fixed by Art. 4 of the law, shall 
have ordered the sale of the inscription given for security, this inscription, 
at the request of the complaining- party, or in case of fine, at that of the 
director of the registry, charg-ed with the collection of fines, and as far as is 
necessary to meet the penalties incurred, shall be sold. 

The sale shall take place under the direction of the judiciary ag-ent, on 
the day following- that on which the judgment or sentence is notified 
to him. 

The departmental rentes, under the same circumstances, shall be 
transmitted by the director of the registry to the judiciary ag-ent, who 
shall immediately effect the sale, and transmit the produce of it to the 
director of the registry, by an order from the central chest of the treasury 
on the receiver-g-eneral. The account of the stock-broker in proof of the 
expenses of brokerag-e, shall be annexed. 

The deduction from the capital resulting from the sale shall be made in 
the manner laid down in Art. 3 of the law. 

6. The forms prescribed for the original security must be also observed 
in making up and replacing it. 

7. The proprietor or editor of a journal or periodical writing who may 
wish to terminate his undertaking, must make a declaration to this effect 
to the prefect of the department, or at Paris, to the prefect of police. The 
prefect shall give a certificate of the said declaration : on the exhibition of 
this instrument, and after a"n interval of three months, the security shall 
be repaid or discharged, unless in consequence of sentences incurred, or 
prosecutions instituted, opposition should be made thereto, either at 
the chest of assignments, or to the judiciary agent or director of the 
registry. 

8. The editors or proprietors of the journals and periodical writings 
designated in Art. 1 of the law now in circulation, are allowed fifteen days 
for completing the formalities prescribed by the law of this day, and the 
present ordinance. 

9. Our keeper of the seals, minister of justice, our minister of the in- 
terior and of finance, each in his department, are charged with the execu- 
tion of the present ordinance, which shall be inserted in the bulletin of the 

Y 2 



324 



ORGANIC LAWS, 



2nd. To furnish security, which in the departments of the 
Seine, of Seine-et-Oise, and of Seine-et-Marne, shall 
amount to ten thousand francs rente for daily journals, and 
to five thousand francs rente for the journals or periodical 
writings which appear less frequently. 

And in other departments, the security relative to daily 
journals, shall be two thousand five hundred francs rente, 
in cities of fifty thousand souls and upwards ; fifteen hun- 
dred francs rente, in cities under that extent ; and for jour- 
nals or periodical writings which appear less frequently, 
one-half the said rentes. 

Securities can be effected also at the chest for deposits, 
by lodging in it on the day of the deposit, a sum equal to 
the capital of the rente required. 

2. The responsibility of the authors or editors indicated 
in the declaration, shall extend to all articles inserted in 
the journal or periodical writing ; without prejudice to the 
common bond and liability of the authors or compilers. 

3. The security shall be appropriated, by privilege, to the 
expenses, damages, and fines to which the proprietors or 
editors may be condemned : the deduction shall be made in 
the order indicated in the present article. In case of in- 
sufficiency there shall be room for recourse in pursuance of 
the general bond, to the effects of the declared respon- 
sible proprietors or editors of the journal or periodical 
writing, and of the authors and compilers of the condemned 
articles. 

4. The condemnations incurred must be acquitted, and 
the security cleared or completed, within fifteen days from 
the notification of the sentence: during the fifteen days 
which elapse without the said security being cleared or 
completed, and as long as it remains so, the journal or 
periodical writing shall cease to appear. 

5. At the moment of the publication of each number or 



LIBERTY OP THE PRESS. 325 

livraison of the journal or periodical writing, a copy, signed 
by a proprietor or responsible editor, shall be sent to the 
prefecture for chief places of departments, to the sub-pre- 
fecture for those of arrondissements, and in other towns, 
to the mayoralty. 

This formality shall neither suspend nor retard the de- 
parture or circulation of the journal or periodical writing. 

6. Whoever shall publish a journal or periodical writing 
without fulfilling the conditions prescribed in Articles 1, 
4 and 5, of the present law, shall be punished correction- 
ally by an imprisonment of from one month to six months, 
and by a fine of from two hundred to twelve hundred francs. 

7. The editors of a journal or periodical writing cannot 
render an account of the secret sittings of the chambers, or 
either of them, without their authority. 

8. Every journal shall be obliged to insert the official 
publications which are addressed to it for this purpose by 
the government, the day following that on which such pub- 
lications are sent, on the sole condition of the payment of 
the expenses of insertion. 

9. The responsible proprietors or editors of a journal or 
periodical writing, the authors or compilers of articles 
printed in the said journal or writing, accused of crimes 
and delicts on the subject of publication, shall be prose- 
cuted and tried in the forms, and according to the distinc- 
tions, established with respect to all other publications. 

10. In case of conviction, the same penalties shall be 
applied to them. Notwithstanding, the fines may be 
doubled, and, in case of repetition, quadrupled, without 
prejudice to the penalties attached to repetition, pro- 
nounced by the penal code. 

11. The editors of the journal or periodical writing shall 
be obliged to insert in one of the numbers or livraisons 
appearing in the month in which the judgment or sentence 
is pronounced against them, an extract containing the 



326 ORGANIC LAWS. 

motives for, and enacting clause of the said judgment or 
sentence. 

12. Contravention to Articles 7, 8 and 1 1 of the present 
law shall be punished correctionally by a fine of from one 
hundred to one thousand francs. 

13. The prosecutions to which contravention to Articles 
7, 8 and 11 of the present law may give rise, shall be 
limited to a period of three months, counting from the con- 
travention, or from the interruption of the proceedings, if 
any should have commenced within the time held valid by 
law. 



327 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 

DECLARATION OF THE CLERGY OF FRANCE, 
a. d. 1682. 

Kings and princes, in their temporal capacity, are not 
subject to the ecclesiastical power : they cannot be deposed, 
directly or indirectly, by the authority of the heads of the 
church, nor can their subjects be exempted from the fidelity 
and obedience which they owe to them. 

The decrees of the council of Constance on the authority 
of general councils, ought to remain in force, and the church 
of France does not approve those who say that these decrees 
are doubtful, that they have not been approved, or were 
framed only for a time of schism : 

The exercise of the ecclesiastical power ought to be tem- 
pered by the canons: the regulations, customs and laws 
received in the Gallican church ought to be observed : 

In fine, although the Sovereign Pontiff has the principal 
part in questions of faith, and his decrees concern all 
churches, and each church in particular, his judgment, 
nevertheless, is not infallible, if it be not followed by the 
assent of the whole church # . 



CONCORDAT OF 1801 1 ; 

UNDER THE TITLE OF CONVENTION BETWEEN THE FRENCH GOVERN- 
MENT AND HIS HOLINESS PIUS VII. 

The government of the French republic acknowledges 
that the catholic, apostolic and Roman religion, is the 
religion of the great majority of French citizens. 

* See Fleury, Inst, au Droit EccUs., p. 3. chap. 25. 
f The charter has omitted the fundamental rules of our public law, re- 
lative to the political constitution of the Church of France We refer, on 



328 ORGANIC LAWS. 

His Holiness equally acknowledges that this same religion 
has derived, and still expects the greatest advantage and 
splendour from the establishment of the catholic religion in 
France, and from the particular profession made thereof by 
the consuls of the republic. 

In consequence, after this mutual acknowledgment, as 
well for the prosperity of religion, as for the maintenance 
of internal tranquillity, they have agreed as follows : 

Art. 1. The catholic, apostolic and Roman religion shall 
be freely exercised in France. The celebration of it shall 
be public, those professing it, conforming themselves to 
such regulations of police as the government shall deem 
essential to the maintenance of the public tranquillity. 

2. The holy-see, in concert with the government, shall 
form a new circumscription of French dioceses. 

3. His Holiness shall declare to the titularies of the 
French bishopricks, that with a firm confidence he expects 
from them every kind of sacrifice, even that of their sees, 
for the promotion of peace and unity. 

After this exhortation, should they refuse such sacrifice, 
when called for by the welfare of the church (a refusal 
which His Holiness does not anticipate,) new titularies to 
the government of the bishoprics of the new circumscription 
shall be appointed in the following manner. 

4. The first consul of the republic, within three months 
after the publication of the bull of His Holiness, ^hall ap- 
point to the archbishoprics and bishoprics of the new cir- 
cumscription. His Holiness, observing the forms estab- 
lished with respect to France before the change of govern- 
ment, shall confer the canonical institution. 

5. The appointments to bishoprics which may after- 

this subject, to the chapter of the constitution unwritten, on the Gallican, 
church : the principles there laid down will not permit us to give place in 
this collection to the act concluded in 1817, between the crown and the 
Holy See. It is evident, in fact, from a law the most constant, perhaps, 
of the monarchy, that this concordat can be only regarded as a project. 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 329 

wards fall vacant, shall be in like manner made by the first 
consul, and the canonical institution be given by the holy- 
see, in conformity with the preceding article. 

6. The bishops before they enter on the exercise of their 
functions, shall take immediately to the first consul, the 
oath of fidelity which was in use before the change of 
government, expressed in the terms following: 

" I swear and promise before God on the holy evangelists, 
" to preserve obedience and fidelity to the government 
" established by the constitution of the French republic. I 
" promise also, not to keep up any intercourse, assist at any 
" council, or preserve any sort of union, either at home or 
" abroad, which may be contrary to public tranquillity : 
" and that, if I become acquainted with any plot or con- 
" spiracy, carried on to the prejudice of the state, whether 
" within or without the bounds of my diocese, I will make 
" the government acquainted therewith." 

7. The ecclesiastics of the second order shall take the 
same oath before the civil authorities appointed by govern- 
ment. 

8. The form of prayer following shall be recited at the 
end of the divine office, in all the catholic churches of 
France: Domine, salvam fac rempublicam ; Domine, salvos 
fac consules. 

9. The bishops shall make a new circumscription of the 
parishes of their dioceses, but which shall have no effect 
without the consent of government. 

TO. The bishops shall appoint to cures. They can choose 
such persons only as are approved of by the government. 

11. The bishops shall be at liberty to have a chapter in 
their cathedral, and a seminary for their diocese, but the 
government is not obliged to endow these establishments. 

12. All metropolitan, cathedral, parochial, and other 
churches, not alienated, necessary to the celebration of 
worship, shall be placed at the disposal of the bishops. 



330 ORGANIC LAWS. 

13. His Holiness, for the preservation of peace and the 
happy re-establishment of the catholic religion, declares that 
neither he nor his successors will in any manner trouble 
the acquirers of the ecclesiastical property which has been 
alienated ; and that consequently, the possession of this 
same property, the rights and revenues attached to it, 
shall remain immutably fixed in their hands, or in those of 
their assigns. 

14. The government shall make suitable provision for 
the bishops and cures whose dioceses and parishes shall be 
included in the new circumscription. 

15. The government, in like manner, shall take measures, 
in order that French catholics may be able, if they wish it, 
to make foundations in favour of churches. 

16. His Holiness acknowledges, in the first consul of the 
French republic, the same rights and prerogatives which the 
old government enjoyed at his court. 

17. It is agreed between the contracting parties that in 
case one of the successors of the present first consul should 
not be a catholic, the rights and prerogatives mentioned in 
the above article, and the appointment to bishoprics, shall 
be regulated, with respect to the said consul, by a new con- 
vention. 

The ratifications shall be exchanged at Paris within the 
space of forty days. 

Done at Paris the 26th Messidor, year 9. 
{Here follow the signatures.) 



331 



ORGANIC LAWS. 

LAW OF THE 18TH GERMINAL, YEAR 10, ON THE 
ORGANIZATION OF RELIGIOUS SECTS. 

Of the Catholic Religion. 

Title I. — On the Administration of the Catholic Church in 
its general relations with the Laws and Police of the 
State. 

Art. 1. No bull, brief, rescript, decree, mandate, pro- 
vision, (for collating to benefices), or substitute for such 
provision, or any other instrument of the court of Rome, 
even those which concern individuals only, can be received, 
published, printed, or otherwise put in execution, without 
the authority of government. 

2. No individual styling himself a nuncio, legate, apos- 
tolical vicar or commissioner, or availing himself of any 
other denomination, can, without the same authority, ex- 
ercise on the soil of France, or elsewhere, any function re- 
lative to the affairs of the Gallican church. 

3. The decrees of foreign synods, not excepting those of 
general councils, cannot be made public in France, before 
the government has examined their form, their conformity 
with the laws, rights and franchises of the French empire, 
and every thing which, in their publication, might disturb 
or affect the public tranquillity. 

4. No national or metropolitan council, synod of a 
diocese, or deliberating assembly, can be held, without the 
express permission of government. 

5. All ecclesiastical functions are gratuitous, save the 
oblations which might be authorized, and fixed by regu- 
lations. 

6. Recourse may be had to the council of state in all 



332 ORGANIC LAWS. 

cases of abuse on the part of superiors and other ecclesias- 
tical persons. The cases of abuse are, usurpation or ex- 
cess of power, opposition to the laws and regulations of 
the state, the infraction of rules confirmed by the canons 
received in France, encroachment on the liberties, fran- 
chises and customs of the Gallican church, and every un- 
dertaking or proceeding which, in the exercise of religion, 
may compromise the honour of citizens, arbitrarily trouble 
their conscience, degenerate into oppression or injury 
against them, or turn to the public scandal. 

7. Recourse may be also had to the council of state, 
whenever an attempt ? is made to obstruct the public exer- 
cise of religion, or that liberty which the laws and regula- 
tions guarantee its ministers. 

8. This recourse is open to every person interested : and 
in default of individual complaint, the prefects exercise it 
officially. 

The public functionary, the ecclesiastic, or person who 
wishes to avail himself of this recourse, addresses a memo- 
rial containing particulars and signed with his name, to 
the counsellor of state, especially charged with affairs 
of religion : this officer, with the least delay possible, must 
obtain all necessary evidence ; and on his report, the affair 
is followed and definitively terminated in the administrative 
form, or referred, according to the exigency of the case, to 
the competent authorities. 

Title \\.—Of Ministers. 
§ 1 . — General Dispositions. 

9. The catholic religion is exercised under the direc- 
tion of archbishops and bishops in their dioceses, and 
under that of cures in their parishes. 

10. Every privilege importing exemption or allowance 
of episcopal jurisdiction, is abolished. 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 



333 



11. The archbishops and bishops, under the authority of 
the government, may establish cathedral chapters and se- 
minaries in their dioceses. All other ecclesiastical estab- 
lishments are suppressed. 

12. It is permitted the archbishops and bishops to add 
to their names the title of Citizen or Monsieur. All other 
appellations are forbidden. 

§ 2.— Archbishops or Metropolitans. 

13. The archbishops consecrate and instal their suf- 
fragans. In case of impediment or refusal on their part, 
their place is supplied by the oldest bishop of the metropo- 
litan arrondissement. 

14. They watch over the maintenance of faith and dis- 
cipline, in the dioceses depending on their archbishoprick. 

15. They take cognizance of the appeals and complaints 
brought against the conduct and decisions of the suffragan 
bishops. 

§ 3. — Of the Bishops, Vicars-general and Seminaries. 

16. No person can be made a bishop before the age of 
thirty, and if he be not originally a Frenchman. 

17. Before the instrument of nomination is transmitted, 
the person or persons proposed, are obliged to produce a 
certificate of good life and manners, drawn up by the 
bishop of the diocese in which they have discharged the 
functions of ecclesiastical minister : they are examined on 
doctrinal points by a bishop and two priests commissioned 
by the first consul, who transmit the result of such exami- 
nation to the minister charged with the affairs of religion. 

18. The priest appointed by the first consul hastens to 
obtain the papal institution. 

He cannot exercise any function before the bull declaring 
his institution has received the sanction of government, 
nor until he has taken, in person, the oath prescribed by 



334 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



the convention formed between the French government 
and the holy see. This oath, of which the proces-verbal is 
drawn up by the secretary of state, is taken to the first 
consul. 

19. The bishops appoint and institute the cures ; they 
do not, however, declare their appointment, and confer the 
canonical institution, until this appointment has received 
the sanction of the first consul. 

20. They are obliged to reside in their dioceses, nor can 
they leave them without permission from the first consul. 

21. Each bishop may appoint two vicars-general, and 
each archbishop three : they choose them from among the 
priests possessed of the qualifications requisite for a bishop. 

22. They visit annually, and in person, a part of their 
diocese, and in the space of five years, the diocese entire. 
In case of lawful impediment, the visitation is made by a 
vicar-general. 

23. The bishops are charged with organizing their se- 
minaries ; the regulations for this purpose being sub- 
mitted to the approbation of the first consul. 

24. Those who are chosen to give instruction in the se- 
minaries subscribe the declaration made by the clergy of 
France in 1682*, and published by an edict of the same 
year. They bind themselves to teach the doctrine therein 
contained, and the bishops address a formal copy of this 
submission to the minister charged with affairs of re- 
ligion. 

25. The bishops, every year, send to this minister the 
name of the persons who are studying in the seminaries, 
and who are destined for the ecclesiastical profession. 

They cannot ordain any ecclesiastic, unless he prove 
himself possessed of a property yielding an annual revenue 
of at least three hundred francs, and that he possesses the 

* See this declaration, p. 327. 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 335 

qualifications required by the canons received in France, or 
who is under twenty-five years of age. 

26. The bishops make no ordination before the candi- 
dates have been submitted to the government, and approved 
of by it. 

%4.— Of the Cure's. 

27. The cures cannot enter on their functions until they 
have taken, before the prefect, the oath prescribed by the 
convention between the government and the holy see. A 
collated copy of this oath, of which the proces-verbal is 
prepared by the secretary-general of the prefecture, is de- 
livered to them. 

28. They are put in possession by a cure or priest ap- 
pointed by the bishop. 

29. They are obliged to reside in their parishes. 

30. The cures, in the exercise of their functions, are im- 
mediately subject to the bishops. 

31. The vicars and curates (desservans) exercise their mi- 
nistry under the superintendency and direction of the cures. 
They are approved by the bishop and dismissible by him. 

32. No foreigner can be employed in the functions of 
the ecclesiastical ministry, without the permission of go- 
vernment. 

33. An ecclesiastic, although a Frenchman, who does 
not belong to some diocese, cannot exercise any function. 

34. A priest cannot leave his own diocese to officiate as 
curate in another, without permission from his bishop. 

%5. — Of Cathedral Chapters, and the Government of 
Dioceses during the Vacancy of Sees. 

35. The archbishops and bishops who wish to use the 
power conferred on them of establishing chapters, cannot 
do this without bearing the authority of government, as 
well for the establishment itself, as for the number and 
choice of the ecclesiastics destined to compose it. 



336 ORGANIC LAWS. 

36. During the vacancy of a see, the metropolitan pro- 
vides for it, and in default of the metropolitan, the oldest 
of the bishops suffragans to the government of the 
diocese. 

The vicars-generai of these dioceses continue in the dis- 
charge of their functions, from the death of the bishop 
until the appointment of a successor. 

37. The metropolitans and the cathedral chapters must, 
without delay, give notice to the government of the va- 
cancy of a see, and of the measures which have been taken 
for the government of the vacant diocese. 

38. The vicars-general who govern during the vacancy, 
as well as the metropolitans or capitularies, must not per- 
mit any innovation on the usages and customs of the 
diocese. 

Title III. — Of Religious Worship. 

39. There is but one liturgy, and one catechism, for all 
the catholic churches of France. 

40. No cure can order public prayers extraordinary in 
his parish, without the special permission of the bishop. 

41. No festival, with the exception of Sunday, can be 
established without permission of the government. 

42. Ecclesiastics, in religious ceremonies, use the habits 
and ornaments suitable to their rank : they cannot, in any 
case, or under any pretext, adopt the colour and distinctive 
marks reserved for bishops. 

43. All ecclesiastics are habited in the French style, and 
in black. Bishops may add to this costume the pastoral 
cross and violet stockings. 

44. Domestic chapels and private oratories cannot be 
established without the express permission of government, 
granted at the request of the bishop. 

45. No religious ceremony takes place without the edi- 
fices devoted to the catholic religion, in towns where there 
are temples destined to different modes of worship. 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 



337 



46. The same temple cannot be consecrated to more than 

one religion. 

47. In cathedral and parochial churches, a place is set 
apart for the catholic individuals who fill the civil and mi- 
litary offices. 

48. The bishop arranges with the prefect the mode of 
calling the faithful to divine service by the sound of clocks. 
They cannot be sounded for any other purpose, without 
permission from the local police. 

49. When the government orders public prayers, the 
bishops agree with the prefect and the military command- 
ant of the place, on the day, hour and mode of executing 
such order. 

50. The solemn prayers, called sermons, and those known 
by the name of stations, of the advent and lent, are deli- 
vered by such priests only as have obtained special autho- 
rity from the bishop. 

51. The cures, in the sermons (prdnes) of the parochial 
masses, pray and cause prayers to be made, for the pro- 
sperity of the republic, and for the consuls. 

52. In their exhortations, they are not permitted to 
make any accusation, direct or indirect, against persons, 
or against the other modes of religion authorized in the 
state. 

53. In the sermon before mentioned, they are not to 
make any publication foreign to the exercise of religion, 
except it be ordered by the government. 

54. They cannot confer the nuptial benediction except 
on such as prove in good and due form, that they have 
contracted marriage before the civil officer. 

55. The registers kept by the ministers of religion, 
being intended to relate only to the administration of sa- 
craments, cannot in any case supply the place of the re- 
gisters ordained by law for verifying the civil condition of 
the French. 

Vol. I. Z 



338 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



56. In all acts, ecclesiastical and religious, the equinoc- 
tial calendar established by the laws of the republic, must 
be used ; and the days be designated by the names which 
they had in the calendar of the solstices. 

57. Sunday is the day appointed for the public function- 
aries to abstain from labour. 

Title IV.— Of the Circumscription of Archbishopricks, Bi- 
shopricks and Parishes, of the Edifices dedicated to Reli- 
gion, and of the Maintenance of Ministers. 

% 1. — Of the Circumscription of Archbishopricks and 
Bishopricks. 

58. There are in France eleven archbishopricks or me- 
tropolitan sees, and fifty-seven bishopricks. 

59. The circumscription of the metropolitan sees and 
dioceses is made conformably to the annexed table*. 

Paris, Arbishoprick, comprehends in its diocese, the 
department of the Seine; Troyes, Aube and Yonne; 
Amiens, Somme and Oise ; Soissons, Aisne ; Arras, Pas- 
de-Calais ; Cambray, Nord ; Versailles, Seine-et-Oise, Eure- 
et-Loir; Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, Marne; Orleans, Loiret, 
Loir-et-Cher. 

* Malines, Archbishoprick. — Deux-Nethes, Dyle. *Na- 
mur, Sambre-et-Meuse ; * Tournay, Jemmappe : * Aix-la- 
Chapelle, Ro'er, Rhin-et-Moselle ; * Treves, Sarre ; * Gand, 
Escaut, Lys ; * Liege, Meuse-inf., Ourthe ; * Mayence, 
Mont Tonnerre. 

Besancon, Archbishoprick, — Haute-Saone, Doubs, Jura ; 
Autun, Saone-et-Loire, La Nievre ; Metz, Moselle, *Forets, 
Ardennes ; Strasbourg, Haute Rhin, Bas Rhin ; Nancy, 
Meuse, Meurthe, Vosges; Dijon, Cote-d'or, Haute Marne. 

Lyon, Archbishopric.— Rhone, Loire, Ain ; Mende, Ar- 

* The archbishopricks, bishopricks, or departments preceded by an *, 
no longer form part, of France. 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 339 

deche,Lozere ; * Grenoble, Isere ; Valence, Drome ; * Cham- 
bery, Mont Blanc, Leman. 

Aix, Archbishoprick. — Var, Bouches-du-Rhone ; * Nice, 
Alpes Maritimes ; Avignon, Gard, Vancluse ; Ajaccio, 
Golo, Liamone* ; Digne, Hautes- Alpes, Basses- Alpes. 

Toulouse, Archbishoprick. — Haute-Garonne, Arriege ; 
Cahors, Lot, Aveyron; Montpellier, Herault, Tarn ; Car- 
cassone, Aude, Pyrenees-Or ; Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers ; 
Bayonne, Landes, Hautes Pyrenees, Basses Pyrenees. 

Bourdeaux, Archbishoprick. — Gironde ; Poitiers, Deux 
Sevres, Vienne; La Rochelle, Charente-Inf., Vendee; An- 
gouleme, Charente, Dardogne. 

Bourses, Archbishoprick.'— Cher, Indre ; Clermont, Al- 
lier, Puy-de-D6me; Saint-Flour, Haute-Loire, Cantal ; 
Limoges, Creuse, Correze, Haute- Vienne. 

Tours, Archbishoprick. — Indre-et-Loire ; Le Mans, Sarthe, 
Mayenne ; Angers, Maine-et-Lpire ; Nantz, Loire-Infe- 
rieure ; Rennes, Ile-et-Vilaine ; Vannes, Morbihan ; Saint 
Brieux, C6tes-du-Nord ; Quimper, Finistere. 

Rouen, Archbishoprick. — Seine-Inferieure ; Coutances, 
Manche ; Bayeux, Calvados ; Seez, Orne ; Evreux, Eure. 

Turin, Archbishoprick. — * Saluces; *Acqui; * Coni ; 
* Asty ; Alexandria ; * Verceil; Ivree. 

§ 2.— >Of the Circumscription of Parishes. 

60. There is at least one parish for each jurisdiction of 
a justice of the peace. There shall be established also as 
many chapels of ease as may be required. 

61. Each bishop, in concert with the prefect, regulates 
the number and extent of these chapels of ease. The plans 
adopted are submitted to the government, and cannot be 
carried into execution without its authority. 

62. No part of the French territory can be erected into 

* Corsica now forms one department only, which bears the name of 
the Isle. 

Z2 



340 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



cures or chapels of ease, without the express authority of 
government. 

63. The priests who officiate in the chapels of ease are 
appointed by the bishops. 

§ 3. — Of the Maintenance of Ministers. 

64. The salary of an archbishop is 15,000 francs. 

65. The salary of a bishop is 10,000 francs. 

66. Cures are divided into two classes : the pay of cures 
of the first class, is limited to 1500 francs : that of cures 
of the second class to 1000 francs. 

67. The pensions which they enjoy in pursuance of the 
laws of the constituent assembly, are deducted from the 
said provision. 

The councils-general of the great communes, should cir- 
cumstances require it, may grant them an increase of 
pay, from their rural effects or tolls. 

68. The vicars and curates are chosen from among the 
ecclesiastics who are pensioned in pursuance of the laws of 
the constituent assembly. 

These pensions, and the produce of offerings (oblations) 
form their maintenance. 

69. The bishops draw up the projects of regulations re- 
lative to the offerings which the ministers of religion are 
authorized to receive for administering the sacraments. 

The projects of regulations framed by the bishops cannot 
be published or otherwise put in execution, until they are 
sanctioned by the government. 

70. Every ecclesiastic, pensioner of state, who refuses, 
except upon lawful grounds, to exercise the functions which 
are assigned to him, shall be deprived of his pension. 

71. The councils-general of department are authorized to 
provide suitable residences for the archbishops and bishops. 

72. The parsonages and gardens attached to them, which 
are not alienated, are restored to the cures and curates of 



CHURCH OF FRANCE. 341 

chapels of ease. In default of such parsonages, the councils- 
general are authorized to provide them with a residence 
and garden. 

73. The foundations which are destined to the support 
of ministers, and the exercise of religion can only consist in 
rentes charged on the state. They are accepted by the 
bishop of the diocese, and cannot be carried into execution 
except with the consent of government. 

74. Immoveables, with the exception of the edifices des- 
tined for residence, and the gardens contiguous, cannot be 
appropriated by ecclesiastical titles, nor possessed by the 
ministers of religion, on account of their functions. 

§ 4. — Of the Edifices destined to Religion. 

15. The edifices formerly destined to the Catholic religion, 
at present in the hands of the nation, in the proportion of 
one edifice for each cure or chapel of ease, are placed at the 
disposal of the bishops by the ordinances of the prefects of 
department. A copy of these decrees is addressed to the 
counsellor of state charged with the affairs of religion. 

76. Officers are appointed for watching over the main* 
tenance and preservation of the temples, and the adminis- 
tration of alms. 

77. In parishes where there are no buildings fit for the 
exercise of religion, the bishop, in concert with the prefect 
provides a suitable edifice. 



342 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



OP THE PROTESTANT RELIGION. 
Title I.— General Regulations for all the Protestant Com- 
munions. 

Art. I. — No one can exercise the functions of religion, if 
he is not a Frenchman. 

2. Neither the protestant churches, nor their ministers , 
can maintain relations with any foreign power or authority. 

3. The pastors and ministers of the different protestant 
communions, in the recitation of their offices, pray and 
cause prayers to be made, for the prosperity of the republic, 
and for the consuls. 

4. No doctrinal or dogmatical decision, no formulary under 
the title of confession, or under any other title, can be pub- 
lished, or become matter of instruction, before the govern- 
ment has authorized the publication or promulgation thereof. 

5. No change in discipline can take place without the 
same authority. 

6. The council of state takes cognizance of all encroach- 
ments on the part of the ministers of religion, and of any 
dissensions which may arise amongst them. 

7. Provision is made for the pastors of consistorial 
churches, it being understood that the property possessed 
by these churches, and the produce of offerings established 
by custom or by the regulations, are esteemed a part of 
such provision. 

8. The provisions laid down in the articles organic of the 
catholic religion, on the freedom of foundations, and on the 
description of property which may become the object of 
such foundations, are common to the protestant churches. 

9. There are two academies or seminaries in the east of 
France, for the instruction of the ministers of the confession 
of Augsburgh. 

10. There is a seminary at Geneva for the instruction of 
the ministers of the reformed churches. 



PROTESTANT RELIGION. 343 

11. The professors of all academies or seminaries are 
appointed by the first consul. 

12. No one can be chosen a minister or pastor of a church 
of the confession of Augsburgh, if he has not studied, during 
a determinate period, in one of the French seminaries des- 
tined to the instruction of ministers of that confession, and 
if he does not produce a certificate, in due form, attesting 
his time of study, his capacity, and good morals. 

13. No one can be chosen minister or pastor of a reform- 
ed church, who has not studied in the seminary of Geneva, 
and who does not produce a certificate of the description 
laid down in the preceding article. 

14. The rules on the administration and internal police 
of the seminaries, on the number and quality of the pro- 
fessors, on the mode of teaching, and on the subjects of 
instruction, as well as on the form of certificates or attes- 
tations of study, of good conduct and capacity, are sub- 
ject to the approbation of the government. 

Title II. — Of the Reformed Churches. 
% 1. — Of the General Organization of these Churches. 

15. The reformed churches of France have pastors, local 
consistories, and synods. 

16. There is one consistorial church for every six thou- 
sand souls of the same communion. 

17. Five consistorial churches form the arrondissement 
of a synod. 

§ 2. — Of Pastors and Local Consistories. 

18. The consistory of each church is composed of the 
pastor or pastors serving such church, and of the elders or 
notable laity chosen from among the citizens, the heaviest 
assessed on the roll of direct contributions. The number 
of those notables cannot be under six, nor above twelve. 



344 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



19. The number of ministers or pastors in one and the 
same consistorial church, cannot be increased without the 
authority of government. 

20. The consistories watch over the maintenance of dis- 
cipline, the management of the effects of the church, and 
that of the money arising from alms. 

21. The meetings of consistories are held under the pre- 
sidency of the pastor or senior pastor : one of the elders or 
notables officiates as secretary. 

22. The ordinary meetings of consistories continue to be 
held on the days established by custom. Extraordinary meet- 
ings cannot take place without the permission of the sub- 
prefect, or, in the absence of the sub-prefect, of the mayor. 

23. Every two years a moiety of the elders of the con- 
sistory shall be renewed. At this period the elders in 
office unite themselves to an equal number of protestant 
citizens, heads of families, and chosen from among the 
heaviest assessed on the roll of direct contributions of the 
commune in which the consistorial church is situated, for 
proceeding to the renewal of the consistory. The elders 
going out, may be re-elected. 

24. In churches where there is at present no consistory, 
one shall be formed. All the members are elected by a 
meeting composed of twenty-five heads of protestant fami- 
lies, the heaviest assessed on the roll of direct contribu- 
tions. This meeting cannot be held except with the au- 
thority, and in the presence of the prefect or sub-prefect. 

25. Pastors cannot be deprived of their office without 
the motives for such deprivation being presented to the 
government, which approves or rejects them. 

26. In case of the decease, voluntary resignation, or con- 
firmed deprivation of a pastor, the consistory formed in 
the manner prescribed by Article 18, chooses by a plu- 
rality of votes, the person who is to succeed him. 

The title of ekction is presented to the first consul by 



PROTESTANT RELIGION. 345 

the minister charged with affairs of worship, for his ap^ 
probation. 

This approbation given, the minister cannot enter on 
the duties of his office until he has taken, before the pre- 
fect, the oath required from the ministers of the catholic 
religion. 

27. All pastors now on duty, are provisionally confirmed. 

28. No church can extend from one department into 
another. 

§ 3.— Of the Synods. 

29. Every synod is composed of a pastor, or of one of 
the pastors, and an elder or notable of each church. 

30. The synods superintend every thing which concerns 
the celebration of worship, the teaching of doctrine, and 
the conduct of ecclesiastical affairs. All decisions ema- 
nating from them, of whatever nature they may be, are 
subject to the approbation of the government. 

31. The synods cannot assemble without the permission of 
government. Previous notice must be given to the minister 
charged with affairs of religion, of the subjects which are to 
be discussed. The assembly is held in presence of the pre- 
fect or sub -prefect, and a copy of the proces- verbal of its 
deliberations is addressed by the prefect to the minister 
charged with affairs of religion, who, with the least delay 
possible, makes his report thereof to the government. 

32. A synod cannot continue its sittings longer than ten 
days. 

Title III. — Of the Organization of the Churches of the 
Confession of Augsburgh. 

% 1. — General Dispositions. 

33. The churches of the confession of Augsburgh have pas- 
tors, local consistories, inspections and general consistories. 



346 



ORGANIC LAWS. 



§ 2.«— Of the Ministers or Pastors, and Local Consistories 
of each Church. 

34. What has been prescribed in section 2. of the pre- 
ceding title regarding the pastors and reformed churches, 
is followed relative to the pastors, circumscription, and 
government of the consistorial churches. 

§ 3. — Of the Inspections. 

35. The churches of the confession of Augsburgh are 
subordinate to inspections. 

36. Five consistorial churches compose the arrondisse- 
ment of an inspection. 

37. Each inspection is composed of the minister, and of 
one elder or notable from every church of the arrondisse- 
ment : it cannot meet without the permission of govern- 
ment : the first time a convocation falls due, it shall be or- 
dered by the senior minister of the churches of the arron- 
dissement. Each inspection shall choose from its number 
two laymen and one ecclesiastic who shall take the title of 
inspector, and be charged with watching over the ministers 
and the maintenance of good order in the several churches. 

The choice of the inspector and two laymen shall be con- 
firmed by the first consul. 

38. The inspection cannot meet except with the autho- 
rity of the government, and in presence of the prefect or 
sub-prefect, nor until it has given previous notice to the 
minister charged with affairs of religion of the business 
which is to be the subject of discussion. 

39. The inspector has power to visit the churches of his 
arrondissement : he joins to himself the two laymen ap- 
pointed with him whenever circumstances require it : he is 
charged with convoking the general assembly of the in- 
spection. No decision emanating from the general assem- 
bly of inspection can be carried into execution without 
being submitted to the approbation of the government. 



PROTESTANT RELIGION. 347 

§ 4. — Of the General Consistories. 

40. There are three general consistories ; one at Stras- 
burgh for the protestants of the confession of Augsburgh 
of the departments of the higher and lower Rhine ; 
another at Mentz for those of the departments of the Sarre 
and Mont-Tonnere ; and the third at Cologne for those of 
the departments of the Rhine-and-Moselle and Roer. 

41. Each consistory is composed of a president (protes- 
tant layman,) of two ecclesiastics, inspectors, and of one 
deputy from each inspection. The president and two ec- 
clesiastics, inspectors, shall be appointed by the first con- 
sul. The president, either to the first consul or to such 
public functionary as it pleases the first consul to appoint, 
shall take the oath required from the ministers of the ca- 
tholic religion. The two ecclesiastics, inspectors, and the 
lay members shall take the same oath to the president. 

42. The general consistory cannot meet without the per- 
mission of government, and only in presence of the prefect 
or sub-prefect : previous notice of the subjects which are 
to be treated of, must be given to the minister charged 
with affairs of religion. The meeting can only continue 
six days. 

43. During the interval between one assembly and 
another, there is a directory composed of the president, of 
the senior of the two ecclesiastics, inspectors, and of three 
laymen, one of whom is appointed by the first consul, and 
two by the general consistory. 

44. The powejs of the general consistory and of the 
directory continue subject to the rules and customs of the 
churches of the confession of Augsburgh in all things 
which have not been formally repealed by the laws of 
the state or by the present articles. 



348 



OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 

Decree of the 10th December, 1806. On the Jewish 
Religion *. 

Art. 1. A synagogue and an Israelitish consistory are 
established in every department containing two thousand 
individuals professing the religion of Moses. 

2. In case two thousand Israelites should not be found 
in a single department, the circumscription of the consis- 
torial synagogue embraces as many neighbouring depart- 
ments as may be necessary to make up that number. The 
seat of the synagogue is always in the city of which the 
Israelitish population is the most numerous. 

3. In no case can there be more than one consistorial 
synagogue for each department. 

4. No particular synagogue can be established unless the 
proposal for such establishment is made by the consistorial 
synagogue to the competent authority. Each particular 
synagogue is administered by two notables and a rabbi, 
who are appointed by the competent authority. 

5. There is one grand rabbi for every consistorial sy- 
nagogue. 

6. The consistories are composed of a grand rabbi, of 
another rabbi, so far as this is practicable, and of three 
other Israelites, two of whom are chosen from among the 
inhabitants of the city which is the seat of the consistory. 

7. The oldest of its members presides over the consis- 
tory, with the title of elder of the consistory. 

8. In every consistorial circumscription, twenty-five no- 
tables, chosen from among the heaviest taxed and the most 
reputable of the Israelites, are fixed upon by the competent 
authority. 

* This regulation was framed by a commission appointed by a grand 
sanhedrim convoked at Paris in 1806, and confirmed by the imperial 
decree of the 10th December of the same year. 



JEWISH RELIGION. 349 

9. These notables proceed to elect the members of the 
consistory, subject to the approbation of the competent 
authority. 

10. No one can be a member of the consistory, 1st. If 
he be under thirty years of age ; 2d. If he has incurred 
bankruptcy, unless he shall have honourably re-established 
himself ; 3. If he be known to have practised usury. 

11. Every Israelite who wishes to settle in France or in 
the kingdom of Italy, must within three months, give 
notice thereof to the consistory nearest the place where 
he fixes his domicil. 

12. The duties of the consistory are : 1st, To take care 
that the rabbis do not, either in public or private, give 
any instruction, or explanation of the law, otherwise than 
in conformity to the doctrinal decisions of the great san- 
hedrim ; 2nd, To preserve order in the interior of the sy- 
nagogues ; to superintend the management of particular 
synagogues, to regulate the receipt and employment of the 
money destined to defray the expenses of the Mosaic re- 
ligion, and to take care that on account, or under pretext 
of religion, no congregation for the purpose of prayer be 
formed, without being expressly authorized ; 3rd, To en- 
courage by all possible means the Israelites of the consis- 
torial circumscription in the exercise of useful professions, 
and to make known to the authorities those who have no 
avowed means of subsistence ; 4tb, To give notice every year 
to the authorities of the number of conscript Israelites of 
the circumscription. 

13. A central consistory composed of three rabbis and 
two other Israelites has its seat at Paris. 

14. The rabbis of the central consistory are taken from 
among the grand rabbis, and the other members are subject 
to the conditions of eligibility laid down in Art. 10. 

15. One member of the central consistory goes out every 
year : he is always re-eligible. 



350 ORGANIC LAWS. 

16. The remaining members fill up the vacancy: but the 
newly-elected person is not installed until the consent of 
the competent authority is obtained. 

17. The duties of the central consistory consist, 1st, In 
corresponding with the consistories ; 2nd, In watching over 
the execution of the present regulation in all its parts ; 
3rd, In making known to the competent authority all ob- 
structions to the execution of the said regulation, either by 
the violation or non-observation thereof ; 4th, In confirm- 
ing the appointment of rabbis, and in proposing to the 
competent authority, when circumstances require it, the 
deposition of rabbis and members of consistories. 

18. The election of the grand rabbi is made by the 
twenty-five notables designated in Art. 8. 

19. The newly-elected person cannot enter on his func- 
tions until his election is confirmed by the central consistory. 

20. No rabbi can be elected ; 1st, If he be not a native 
or naturalized Frenchman or Italian of the kingdom of 
Italy* ; 2nd, If he cannot produce a certificate of capacity 
signed by three grand rabbis, being Italians, if the candi- 
date is an Italian, Frenchmen, if he belongs to France, and 
furthermore, from and after the year 1820, if he is not ac- 
quainted with the language of France, in France, and that of 
Italy, in Italy. 

Cateris paribus, that person shall be preferred, who, to a 
knowledge of the Hebrew language, adds some knowledge 
of the Greek and Latin. 

21. The duties of the rabbis are ; 1st, To teach religion ; 
2nd, The doctrine contained in the decisions of the grand 
sanhedrim ; 3rd, To exhort in all cases obedience to the 
laws, especially, and in particular, to those relative to the 
defence of the country, and still more particularly to make 
such exhortation every year, at the period of the conscrip- 

* Now that Italy is no longer united to France, this regulation has no 
effect. 



JEWISH RELIGION. 351 

tion, that is, from the first call of the authorities until the 
complete execution of the law ; 4th, To make the Israelites 
consider the military service as a sacred duty, and to declare 
to them, that during the time which they devote to this ser- ( 
vice, the law exempts them from such observances as it 
might not be possible to reconcile with it ; 5th, To preach 
in the synagogues, and recite the prayers which are com- 
monly made there for the emperor and the imperial family ; 
6th, to celebrate marriages and declare divorces, without 
having the power, under any circumstances, of performing 
these ceremonies, but in so far as the parties shall have well 
and duly proved their conformance to the laws on marriage 
and divorce. 

22. The pay of the rabbis, members of the central con- 
sistory, is fixed at six thousand francs ; that of the grand 
rabbis of the consistorial synagogue at three thousand 
francs ; that of the rabbis of particular synagogues is 
fixed by the Israelites at whose request the synagogue was 
established ; it cannot be less than one thousand francs. 
The Israelites of the respective circumscriptions may vote 
an increase of this provision. 

23. Each consistory proposes to the competent authority 
a project for assessing among the Israelites of the cir- 
cumscription the sum necessary to discharge the salary of 
the rabbis. The other expenses of religion are determined 
and assessed by the competent authority at the request of 
the consistories. The pay of the rabbis, members of the 
central consistory, is levied in proportion to the sums col- 
lected in the different circumscriptions. 

24. Each consistory appoints an Israelite, who cannot be 
a rabbi, or member of the consistory, to receive the money 
which is to be collected in the circumscription. 

25. This receiver pays the rabbis, as well as the other 
expenses of religion, every three months, on an order signed 
by at least three members of the consistory. He gives in 



ft 



352 ORGANIC LAWS. 

his accounts every year on a fixed day to the assembled 
consistory. 

26. Every rabbi who, after the present regulation comes 
in force, should not be employed, and who would still wish 
to preserve his domicil in France, or in the kingdom of 
Italy, shall be obliged to declare his adherence to the de- 
cisions of the great sanhedrim by a declaration formal 
and signed with his name. A copy of this declaration shall 
be transmitted by the consistory which receives it, to the 
central consistory. 

27. The rabbis who are members of the great sanhedrim, 
so far as it is practicable, shall be preferred to all others 
for the places of grand rabbis. 



END OF THE FIRST PART. 



THE 



NETHERLANDS. 



HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF THE POLITICAL 
INSTITUTIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



JL HIS subject naturally divides itself into three parts. 
The first will present a sketch of the political history of all 
the provinces formerly known under the various denomina- 
tions of the Netherlands, Lower Germany, and the circle of 
Burgundy, from the earliest times down to the period which 
gave freedom to seven of these provinces ; in other words, 
to the establishment of the republic of Holland. 

In the second part will be continued the history of the 
provinces which remained subject to Spain, until the treaty 
which detached them from France, to form a portion of 
the kingdom of the Netherlands. 

In the third we shall present those vicissitudes which 
strike us as the most remarkable in the history of the 
republic, from its establishment, down to the period when, 
in like manner, it came to form another part of the same 
monarchy. 

Vol. I. 2 A 



354 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



PART FIRST. 



Chapter I, — To the Union of the Provinces under the 
House of Burgundy. 

When the Romano invaded Gaul, that extensive region 
which now forms the kingdom of the Netherlands, was 
inhabited by three powerful nations. To the south dwelt 
the Belgse ; to the north the Frisii ; and on the island 
formed by the branches of the Rhine and the ocean, the 
Batavi. 

The Belgas are classed by the ancients among the nations 
of Gaul ; and according to Caesar, surpassed all the other 
people of that country in warlike valour*. The Batavi 
and Frisii were Germans. The former were early admitted 
to an alliance with Rome, which secured them a consider- 
able share of independence. They were neither insulted 
by tributes, nor oppressed by the extortions of the publican. 
Set apart for the purposes of war, they merited by their 
fidelity and valour the confidence of the emperors f . The 
Frisii were the last of these nations to acknowledge the 
fortunes of Rome, as they were afterwards the first to 
recover their freedom. The morasses by which their 
country was everywhere covered, were at length penetrated 
by Drusus, who, having cut a canal from the Rhine to the 
Zuyder Zee, led the Roman galleys into the northern ocean, 
and by the mouths of the Ems and Weser, found a way into 
the heart of Germany. The Romans fortified several 
points on the frontiers of Gaul, to restrain the natural 
ardour of the Batavi. Caligula built a tower near Catwyk 
to secure the mouths of the Rhine. Britten and other 

* Comment, lib. 1. 

f Tacitus de Mur. Germ. Cap. xxix et xxxiv. 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 355 

places were raised with the same view. The Batavi, how- 
ever, far from taking umbrage, carried on an active com- 
merce with these places. 

The violent commotions which agitated Gaul at the death 
of Nero, did not leave the Batavi inactive. A chief named 
Civilis was induced to take advantage of the situation of the 
empire to free his country from the tribute of men to which 
it had been subjected. Taking up arms at his voice, the 
Roman frontiers were forced, and the Gauls of the north 
invited to unfold the standard of revolt. The chiefs ranged 
themselves in crowds round the Batavian warrior, several 
Roman posts were seized, and the times of Vercingetorix 
and Sacrovir seemed again restored. 

Fortune at first favoured the confederates, and they 
made some progress in Gaul ; but their success was of 
short duration. Most of the chiefs who had espoused the 
party of Civilis, as readily laid down their arms, and re- 
turned to their former obedience. Civilis himself, after 
carrying on the contest some time longer against one of 
Vespasian's generals, was content to make peace. The 
Batavi acknowledged the emperor and returned to their 
island. Their chief, resigning the sword, thenceforward 
lived and died unnoticed. Three centuries later, and he 
would have been the founder of some powerful state. 

The history of the Low Countries is now, during a long 
interval, covered with a veil which it would be no less 
useless than fatiguing to attempt to remove. The names 
of the principal nations which inhabited it are no longer 
but casually mentioned, and simply as furnishing good sol- 
diers for the Roman forces *. We perceive them also sus- 
taining various struggles against those Frank tribes, whose 
restless audacity fatigued the Roman discipline ; they re^ 
pulsed them, and were repulsed by turns. Few particulars are 

* Tableau de l'Historie Generate des Provinces-Unies. 

2 A 2 



356 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

known as to the state of civilization among them. Chris- 
tianity was slowly introduced ; the Roman institutions 
had succeeded in gaining gTound on a few points only, 
while industry was annihilated at its dawn by the shoals of 
brigands who infested the banks of the rivers. 

Towards the fourth century the Batavi and Frisii are 
confounded : some historians have given to the chiefs, who 
then governed them, the appellation of kings, but they 
were kings whose sceptres bowed before the sword of the 
praetor's lieutenant, and such of their barbarous names as 
have reached us do not deserve the notice of history. It is 
an opinion, which various passages in annals of the highest 
antiquity seem to confirm, that at the time the Franks made 
a permanent settlement in Gaul, the Belgic provinces were 
subject to that people ; but during the wars which followed 
the partition of the monarchy, they made efforts to recover 
their independence. Charles Martel and his successors 
overthrew them several times. Charlemagne finally united 
them to his vast empire. He divided the country into a 
certain number of cantons, over each of which he placed a 
count *. These counts were subordinate to a duke, and, like 
him, removable. The duchy of Friesland, ducatumFrisia, 
as the old annalists term it, extended to the Meuse. The 
other Belgic provinces, from a very early period, had been 
included in the kingdom of Austrasia. After Charlemagne 
these provinces shared the common fate. From removable, 
the delegates of the crown every where became unremov- 
able and hereditary. In Friesland the duke disappeared 
amidst the troubles in which the feebleness of the crown 
and the ambition of its officers involved the empire. The 
counts became sovereigns. The number of these was suc- 
cessively reduced by wars or alliances, and at length there 
remained but one ; a change which, according to authors 

* D. Bouquet, torn. v. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 357 

the most worthy of credit, took place towards the end of the 
ninth century, a period distinguished also by a great phy- 
sical revolution in these countries. |Xhe title of Count of 
Holland appears for the first time in a diploma granted by 
the emperor Henry IV. in 1064 ; and it is solely by antici- 
pation that some writers have thus designated those lords 
of Friesland who lived two centuries before : the word 
Holland signifies a low or marsh) country, and was at first 
only applied to a small canton. / 

At the period we treat c^'tnis country presented itself 
under a remarkable aspect. The feudal system did not there 
assume the peculiar features which every where else dis- 
tinguished it. The counts from the very first perceived 
thatjustice and moderation could alone secure to them a 
tranquil sway. The independent spirit of the people too 
imminently threatened their feeble power to allow them to 
abuse it with impunity. I Hence it happened that the first 
charters and concessions of power were fruitful in conse- 
quences to the great body of the nation. They assumed a 
rank in the community ; their wishes were obliged to be 
heard, their rights to be represented ; in other words, the 
feudal 'parliament of the sovereign, originally composed of 
the nobility and clergy, was converted at a very early period 
into an assembly of states by the presence of deputies from 
the people. The origin of these assemblies in Friesland, 
as in the other provinces, is very ancient, and their in- 
fluence on public affairs is notorious from a great number 
of documents. [To cite but a single instance; in 1203, a 
countess of Friesland or Holland, twelfth sovereign of that 
country, was deposed for having married without the con- 
sent of the states^ 

The princes generally celebrated their accession by 
granting privileges to the towns, and the least violation of 
them afterwards led to serious disputes. Every successive 



358 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

year too, by adding to the resources of commerce and indus- 
try, especially in the southern provinces, gave a new impulse 
to the energies of the nation ; for if wealth sometimes de- 
grades the higher orders, it is certain that tyranny has not a 
more sure auxiliary than the wretchedness of the people. 

We must recollect, moreover, that the nobles of the se- 
cond rank were much less numerous, and exercised less 
influence in the Low Countries than in the other states of 
Europe. The barons were there, by various relations, as- 
sociated with the other subjects of the lord paramount ; 
and the lands had almost all preserved their original quality 
of freehold. 

To account for this order of things, it may be observed 
that the inhabitants of these provinces continued to retain, 
to a very late period, their original character : they had 
waged an obstinate war against the German tribes who in- 
vaded their country ; and we have reason to believe that 
down to the great revolution which subverted the Roman 
empire they had suffered little from intermixture with 
other nations. When this revolution was consummated, 
when the barriers opposed to the Barbarians were forced, 
every thing was subdued, the people of the Low Countries 
as well as those of Gaul. But it happened that the devas- 
tating torrent followed the channels which had been already 
opened to it, and burst whole and entire on the southern 
and midland parts of Gaul. It was on these countries, so 
long protected against their assaults by the Romans, that 
the Barbarians chiefly longed to assuage their thirst for 
pillage and destruction. Thither then almost all the force 
of conquest tended. \The countries bordering on the ocean, 
and to which the access, especially from the north, was 
more difficult, were consequently less exposed : a less con- 
siderable number of the invaders settled in them ; and thus 
the effects of conquest were not so sensibly felt and so im- 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 359 

mediate that the ancient habits of independence could not 
from the first appear with somewhat more energy than 
elsewhere, and se?ve to set some bounds to the authority 
exercised by the counts in the name of the kings or empe- 
rors of the Franks 1 

While therefore the commons and nobility in England 
were uniting against the crown, and laying the foundations 
of freedom ; while in France, on the contrary, the crown 
and commons were struggling together against the aristo- 
cracy ; while Gertamny was experiencing all the evils of 
feudalism, and its vassals of every rank were engaged in 
wresting the territory piecemeal from the crown, this little 
corner of the eartji afforded a noble example. The com- 
mons more enlightened, more industrious, more courageous, 
entered the lists alo^e with chivalry, established and main- 
tained their rights, q and prepared a revolution which was 
destined to exercise a considerable influence over the fate 
of Europe. Such are the various aspects under which the 
history of the Low Countries presents itself at the period 
of the feudal government : modern writers have not suffi- 
ciently attended thereto, and we regret that the limits of 
this sketch will not permit us to be more diffuse upon it. 

We shall not here undertake to trace the history of these 
different counties down to the period when the whole suc- 
cessively fell under the government of one powerful house. 
This would be nothing but a tiresome enumeration of 
princes, of whom several, it is true, have received from 
their contemporaries the titles of great and magnanimous, 
but over whose fame posterity has not the less drawn the 
veil of oblivion. The county of Holland alone, in the space 
of five centuries, reckons no less than twenty-six sovereigns, 
from the first of whose institution we have a tolerably clear 
account, to that countess Jacqueline who was obliged to 
resign her territories to the duke of Burgundy. On other 



360 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



points, history offers in the Netherlands, although on a less 
extensive scale, the same features that every where else dis- 
tinguished it in the age under consideration. It is made up 
of the petty wars of the nobility continually disputing with 
each other the possession of a bailiwick/Jor village, of the 
consequent sufferings of the people, and of the monkish 
legends in which the writers of the age so much indulged. 
From subjects of this kind let us turn to one which falls 
more particularly within the limits of our work— the union 
of the provinces under the House of Burgundy. 

Chapter II. — To the Reign of Charles V. 

In this chapter we have to trace the History of Bur gundy y 
and we shall endeavour to do this withr so much the more 
clearness, as there is no doubt to the great body of readers 
some confusion in those various dynasties of kings, counts 
or dukes of Burgundy, of whom our national annals so often 
make mention. 

The Burgundians, a nation of German origin, inhabited 
the country about the banks of the Rhine at the period of 
the great revolution which changed the face of the civilized 
world. Christianity flourished among them, and their 
character, perhaps, partook a little less of the ferocity 
which distinguished the neighbouring nations. 

It had long been the custom to arm the Barbarians 
against each other, and to excite them to mutual destruc- 
tion. This practice was attended with no danger in times 
of prosperity, when the auxiliary could be only the blind 
instrument of a superior : but under weak and divided 
princes it necessarily contributed to the fall of the empire. 
The perfidious Stilico called the Burgundians into Gaul at 
the commencement of the fifth century. He reaped the re- 
ward of his treason, the following year, on the scaffold ; but 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 361 

the Burgundians who, at his summons, had spread them- 
selves over the east of Gaul, maintained themselves there 
in spite of all the efforts of his successors. 

In this manner the kingdom of Burgundy was founded. 
Gondicaire, who was only a chief of the Burgundians when 
they passed the Rhine in 407, was proclaimed king in 413 
or 414. This kingdom in its widest extent comprised mo- 
dern Burgundy, nearly the whole of Switzerland, Savoy, 
Dauphiny, and a part of Provence. The family of the 
founder reigned 120 years. It was then extinguished, and 
the kingdom became the prey of those Frank monarchs 
who, at every fresh partition of the monarchy, disputed, 
sword in hand, the territories which it assigned them. An 
interregnum, however, of twenty-seven years elapsed be- 
tween the death of the last monarch and Gontran, the 
first sovereign of the race of Clovis. After the third mo- 
narch of that race, the kingdom became in some measure 
a dependancy on that of France, sometimes divided, some- 
times possessed entire. The very title of this kingdom was 
lost amidst the different partitions which it underwent, and 
other denominations took its place. 

In 855, Lothaire, son of the feeble emperor who suc- 
ceeded Charlemagne, having divided his states between 
his three sons, Charles the third son, received the greatest 
part of the ancient kingdom of Burgundy, under the title 
of the kingdom of Provence ; and the less considerable 
fraction which extended towards Switzerland, formed in 
888, during the troubles excited by the deposition of 
Charles the Fat, the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy. 
The union of these two states composed a new one, termed 
the kingdom of Aries. Rodolph, second king of Transju- 
rane Burgundy, was in 933 the first king of Aries. Such, 
generally speaking, were crowns in those unhappy times ; 
placed on the head of chiefs, the most conspicuous for their 



362 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

valour, by the trembling hand of bishops, they followed the 
chances of fortune. Violence still overthrew the work of 
violence, and the sacred unction did not always give secu- 
rity from the sword. We must, observe, however, that in 
the short duration of these states, traces of that principle 
respected in France, under the two first races, and which 
Montesquieu appears to have been the first to establish in 
a formal manner, are always discernible. The crown was 
at once hereditary and elective ; in other words, the mo- 
narch was elected, but he was obliged to be elected out of 
the reigning dynasty ; a combination, singular enough for 
the age, of the principle of succession to which these people 
thought themselves bound to submit, and of the right of 
election, which was a natural consequence of the absolute 
liberty they had so long enjoyed. 

A century had scarcely rolled away, and already had 
arisen, in the very bosom of the kingdom of Aries, several 
hereditary sovereignties which held immediately of the 
empire. The number of these was so much increased, that 
at length the monarchy was reduced to a mere name, which 
the emperor added to his other titles. What chiefly pro- 
moted this dismemberment was the power of the dignified 
clergy, who either by commission from the crown, or 
through the abuses common in that age, came to be in- 
vested with regal rights in their place of residence. It 
was thus that the archbishop of Lyons obtained his title 
of Exarch, just as the archbishop of Besanc^on and other 
bishops of France and Switzerland, those of princes or 
counts of the empire. The princes who bore the title of 
king of Aries did not preserve their sovereignty even over 
the wrecks of that monarchy. Some portions of it were 
united to the crown of France: another part adhered to 
the Helvetian confederacy ,• while the rest, composed of 
Savoy, of the county of Montbeillard and the bishopric 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 363 

of Basle, were admitted to the rank of states of the em- 
pire*. 

Let us now return to a portion of the kingdom of Bur- 
gundy dismembered at a more ancient period. Ever since 
the famous partition which the sons of Louis the Debonair 
made between them in 843, that part of the kingdom of 
Burgundy, which lay on this side the Rhone and Saone, 
and which was united to France as a portion of the states 
of Charles, remained annexed to that kingdom under the 
title of the duchy of Burgundy. The kings at first granted 
it to the princes of their house as a fief ; then merely as an 
appanage, to be restored to the crown in default of direct 
posterity. 

From the time of Richard-le-Justicier, the first prince 
with whom history makes us acquainted, and who lived at 
the end of the ninth century, the duchy of Burgundy was 
conferred on various princes. But Robert I., called the 
old, son of Robert, king of France, was in 1032 the head 
of a family which possessed this fief hereditarily. Hitherto 
it had been merely a benefice conferred on princes of the 
royal house. This Robert was the stock of what is termed 
the first race of the dukes of Burgundy. The duke, 
Eudes IV., inherited, in 1330, the county of Artois and the 
county of Burgundy from his mother. These counties 
comprised nearly the ancient Sequannaise or Franche- 
Comte, viz., another dismembered portion of the kingdom 
of Aries. 

At this period, therefore, the dukes of Burgundy were 
also counts of Artois and Burgundy. And their power, 
thus augmented, still continued to increase. 

Philip I., called of Rouvre, from the place of his birth, 
succeeded in 1350 to his grand-father, Eudes IV., of whom 
we have just spoken. The mother of this prince was the 
wife of John, king of France, who governed the duchy 

* Pfeffel, etc. 



364 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

during the minority of Philip. This prince, when hardly 
twelve years of age, was married to the heiress of the 
county of Flanders, and at fifteen declared of age ; but he 
died a short time after, leaving no posterity. John, king 
of France, succeeded him in the duchy of Burgundy. The 
letters-patent for the re-union of the duchy to the crown 
are dated A. D., 1361. 

Philip II., called the Hardy, fourth son of king John, 
was the stock of the second race of the dukes of Burgundy. 
He was created duke and sovereign of the state in 1363, at 
the request of the nobility and people. He was at the 
same time declared first peer of the kingdom, a title which 
had before belonged to the duke of Normandy. Having 
espoused the heiress of Flanders, daughter of Louis of 
Male, last count of Flanders, and widow of the young 
prince, Philip of Rouvre, the last duke of Burgundy of the 
first race, Philip-the-Hardy added to his dominions the 
counties of Flanders, Artois, Burgundy, Rethel, and Ne- 
vers. He thus became one of the most powerful princes 
in Europe, and the future grandeur of his family could be 
already foreseen. In other respects, the same spirit of 
independence as formerly, still distinguished the inha- 
bitants of the Netherlands. Princes who were powerful 
enough to set monarchs at defiance, respected the wishes 
of their states-general. These states, like those of France, 
were composed of three orders. But it is evident that the 
deputies of towns enjoyed a more considerable influence in 
them than in any other assemblies of the same description 
then known ; always excepting England, which now took 
the lead of all the nations of Europe in the march of 
freedom. 

Three other princes after Philip-the-Hardy reigned in 
Burgundy, and it continued to receive fresh augmentations 
of power until the catastrophe which terminated the days 
of the last duke. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 36.5 

John, called the Fearless, succeeded his father Philip in 
1404. The famous rivalry between the houses of Burgundy 
and Orleans, the source of so many calamities to France, 
had already taken root. During the reign of the new 
duke it was marked by crimes of peculiar atrocity: he 
caused his rival to be assassinated at Paris in 1407, and 
was himself assassinated in 1419 on the bridge of Mon- 
tereau by Tanegui du Chatel. Philip III., the Good, who 
succeeded John in 1413, made at first common cause with 
the English, and brought France to the brink of destruc- 
tion. He afterwards abandoned his allies, and concluded 
peace with the crown. By this treaty the counties of Ma- 
con, Auxerre, Bar-sur-Seine and Ponthieu, the towns 
of Peronne, Roye, and several other places of Picardy, with 
the sum of sixty thousand crowns, were delivered to him. 
Such was the price at which this prince of the blood con- 
sented to return to his duty as a Frenchman and faithful 
vassal. This peace, however, was a fortunate event for 
France, and she would have been content to make yet 
greater sacrifices to be delivered from those ferocious Bur- 
gundian bands, who, during a period of thirty years, had so 
well seconded the ambition of the heirs of Edward III. 

To mark the principal additions to the state of Burgundy 
under the reign of Philip the Good. He purchased in 
1421 the Marquisate of Namur, of which one Jean Thierry 
of the house of Flanders was the sovereign. He inherited in 
1430 the duchy of Brabant. He became count of Holland, 
Zealand and Friesland, in 1436, by the death of the coun- 
tess Jacqueline, who had appointed him her ruward or 
lieutenant during her life, and successor at her death. 
Finally, in 1451, he was acknowledged duke of Luxem- 
burg by the states of that province. His title was nearly 
similar to that by which he had obtained Holland. The 
memory of this prince was long esteemed in the Nether- 
lands. The friend and patron of the arts, he rendered his 



366 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

court the seat of politeness and good taste. He instituted, 
in 1430, the famous order of the Golden Fleece. He so far 
ameliorated the state of the finances and the administra- 
tion, that while he amassed considerable wealth, he was 
yet able to diminish the burdens of his people. During his 
reign the manufactures in linen, wool, and silk, increased 
considerably, and the towns of Bruges and Antwerp became 
the rivals of Venice and Genoa. 

Charles, surnamed the Terrible, or the Bold> who suc- 
ceeded his father Philip, in 1467, for a short time menaced 
Europe with his iron yoke. He augmented his states by 
the Brisgau, the county of Ferrette, the Sundgau, and 
Alsace, which he purchased from the duke of Austria, and 
with several districts in which he established himself by 
force. The territories of Burgundy now extended from the 
Ems to the Somme, and from the ocean to the Jura. Jts 
young prince wished to assume the title of king, and 
had he displayed more prudence and moderation, he would 
no doubt have obtained it. His ambition, violent and 
sanguinary, lost him the dignity to which he aspired, and 
hurried him into expeditions, by which he consumed the 
immense treasures of his house, and exhausted his provinces. 
Finally, that fortune, which had lowered the pride of 
monarchs, was humbled in its turn. He was beaten in the 
fields of Morat, by those courageous mountaineers who had 
just wrested their country from the tyranny of its feudal 
masters, and had been the first to plant the standard of 
liberty in the centre of Europe. Thenceforward he ex- 
perienced nothing but reverses, and soon after terminated 
his career, sword in hand. 

His fall was an event which affected Europe. " The 
tragical and unlooked-for end of Charles," says a dis- 
tinguished writer*, " blotted from the chart of the po- 

* Ancillon, Tableau Politique, torn. 11. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 367 

litical world, an independent and respectable power, 
that by its interference, might have prevented the bloody- 
wars between France and Austria, have successfully op- 
posed the projects of dominion entertained by both, have 
secured the freedom of Germany, and fixed the equilibrium 
of Europe." And such, in fact, at this period, would have 
been the importance of a kingdom of the Low Countries. 
Its creation would have taken away the aliment for future 
ambition, and, perhaps, have spared to nations a long se- 
ries of calamities. / 

Charles left but one daugnter. Louis XL, under the 
specious offer of his protection, endeavoured to strip this 
princess of her dominions ; but her marriage with Maxi- 
milian of Austria disconcerted his views. 

The houses of Burgundy and Austria were first united by 
this marriage. Mary and Maximilian had two children, 
Margaret and Philip. The first had for her share the 
counties of Burgundy, Artois, and Charolais : the second, 
at the death of his mother, (A. D. 1482.) was acknowledged 
sovereign of the Low Countries. This Philip, surnamed 
the Fair, having espoused Jane, heiress of Arragon, Castile, 
and Leon, had a son, to whom his aunt Margaret bequeathed 
the counties, his mother the crowns of Spain, his father the 
Low Countries, and his grandfather the duchy of Austria. 
This son was Charles V. 



"Chapter III. — Until the Establishment of the Republic. 

'Charles V., by means of various arrangements, upon 
which it is useless to enlarge, became integral sovereign of 
the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, namely, of 
the dutchies of Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg, and 
Guelderland ; of the counties of Zutphen, Holland, Zea- 
land, Flanders, Namur, Hainault, and Artois ; of the mar- 
quisate of the Holy empire, (Antwerp and its territory,) of 



\ 

A 

368 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

the lordships of Friesland, Overyssel, Utrecht, Groningen, 
and Malines. In 1549, he published at Brussels a regu- 
lation declaring the union of the seventeen provinces in one 
indivisible state, hereditary in his family. In that remark- 
able act it was declared that all the internal laws of the 
provinces relative to the succession of the reigning family, so 
far as they were not conformable to the principle of repre- 
sentation adopted for the generality of the Low Countries, 
should be abolished. But it was not until after long con- 
ferences, nor until he had obtained the consent of the states 
of each province, that this law was promulgated by the 
monarch.) 

Charles was born, and had been brought up in the 
Netherlands. He was familiar with the language of the 
inhabitants, whom he loved, and amongst whom he re- 
signed those habits of gravity and haughtiness, which he 
necessarily assumed in his palace at Madrid. He knew 
that in those provinces he could condescend to be affable, 
provided his government were just, and that he could be 
popular without danger, if he took care to respect the 
ancient privileges of the country. Of all his vast dominions 
his yoke was no doubt here the least oppressive, his benefits 
the most numerous. He encouraged the arts and commerce 
of the country, and was seen, in company with the queen of 
Hungary, his sister, visiting the tomb of William de Ben- 
kelin, the modest inventor of the art of preparing and 
barrelling herrings. The industry which had produced 
such happy consequences under the predecessors of this 
prince, then took a prodigious flight, and opened a course 
of prosperity which all the horrors of civil war in the fol- 
lowing reign were destined but too often to interrupt. 

Here, three things demand our particular attention. It 
is material to know what were the states of the provinces 
at this period ; secondly, to investigate the form of govern- 
ment introduced by Charles V. ; and finally, to explain 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 369 

what is necessary relative to the circle of Bur- 
gundy. 

I The Netherlands, under the houses of Burgundy and 
Austria, present a form of government of which there are 
few examples in history. Conquest, the right of succession, 
or treaties, having united on a single head the various titles 
of sovereignty in these provinces, all were subjected to a 
common chief ; but we should err greatly were we to con- 
sider them as forming a single state, of which the prince 
had nothing more to do than take the title of king. The 
least inquiry, on the contrary, teaches us that there were 
almost as many states, and, in some degree, as many 
chiefs, as there were provinces; in other words, that there 
was always a count of Holland, a marquis of Antwerp, 
a duke of Brabant ; but that at this period the same prince 
was invested with these different titles.; On this point 
the pragmatic of Charles V. changed nothing, for this in- 
strument formally declared that it could only have the force 
of law so far as concerned the succession in the reigning 
house ; and that all regulations, whether relating to the 
general settlement of the states, or to their internal go- 
vernment, should remain untouched. 

We have before us then a kind of federal league of 
various states, bound together by the tie of a common sove- 
reign. The internal government of these states deserves to 
be studied. " It was composed," says the Cardinal Benti- 
voglio, " of the three forms joined together, namely, of 
monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy ; each so tempered 
by the other, that while the higher part was vested in the 
person of the prince, the nobility and people retained also 
a moderate share of power *.." 

The sovereignty of every state was thus vested in the 
prince, and the body of deputies from the aristocracy and 
democracy, that is, in the assembly of the states. 

* Relatione delie Provincie Unite, lift 1. cap. iv. 
Vol. I. 2 B 



370 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



As to the way in which these famous assemblies were 
formed, history has transmitted to us but few particulars. 
It is only as we approach our own times, that the necessary 
information can be collected whereby to describe the mode 
of electing the deputies, and the forms which governed 
their deliberations. i£Al that we know for certain is, that 
the states were composed of deputies from the clergy, nobi- 
lity, and cities. These three classes did not always sit in 
the same proportion. Here, the clergy were almost entirely, 
or wholly excluded: there, the nobility preponderated: 
in another province the delegates of the people prevailed. 
The deputies of the clergy were in general the abbots of 
various religious orders ; and, differently from the other 
countries of Europe at this period, they exercised no in- 
fluence in the affairs of the country, and performed no 
other part than that of voting in the assembly. The 
nobles held most of the principal offices in the nomination 
of the sovereign : the greater part lived in their castles 
without the cities, and their influence was counterbalanced 
by the strong and liberal organization of the cities. In 
most of them the population was divided into three classes : 
the first, composed of a nobility holding a middle rank 
between the great landed proprietors and the burgesses ; 
the second, of the burgesses ; and the third, of the people, 
divided into different corporations of arts and trades. All 
enjoyed municipal liberties of very wide extent, and several 
had peculiar privileges which served for the basis of their 
power and prosperity.] 

The sovereign had a right to convoke the states when he 
thought proper. Their sessions do not appear to have been, 
at any time, held at stated and regular periods. When the 
greater number of the provinces were united under a single 
head, the necessity was felt of convoking the states-general 
at the seat of government. States of a similar description 
were held during the religious troubles : they were com- 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 371 

posed of deputies from particular states, and to the prince 
belonged the right of calling them together also. It is im- 
portant to observe that the portion of national sovereignty 
not devolved on the head of the state, was not, as one would 
be at first tempted to believe, transferred to this new 
assembly. It remained divided amongst the several assem- 
blies of the provincial states ; so that the states-general, in 
principle at least, was a deliberative council rather than a 
parliament.;* In other respects it does not appear that the 
powers of the states-general of the seventeen provinces 
were ever exactly specified, and we must recollect too, that 
at this period an acquaintance with speculative rights was 
but little advanced. It was every where seen that power was 
established by the sword, and freedom by energy ; but the 
science of politics was confined to a chosen few. Time 
created, modified, and overthrew institutions : hardly could a 
vestige of the efforts which wrought these changes be traced ; 
and hence the task of following the progress of libertyamong 
the nations of Europe becomes so difficult ; hence it is that 
in reading their history, one is so often struck with the 
sudden appearance or disappearance of such or such esta- 
blishments, of which the birth and extinction seem alike to 
have been brought about without the marked concurrence 
of men. 

It is in the partial revolutions, of which the Low Coun- 
tries were frequently the theatre,, down to the sixteenth 
century, that we should study the influence of the assem- 
blies of states on public liberty and prosperity. We cannot 
here go into the subject at length ; let us select from the 
pages of history that which appears best to denote the 
political circumstances of the period at which we are 
arrived. 

Jn 1488, Maximilian, king of the Romans, and sovereign 
of the Low Countries, in quality of guardian to his son 
Philip, was made prisoner at Bruges, for having encroached 

2 B 2 



72 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

on the privileges of the cities, and threatened the ancient 
liberties of the people. He attempted to make himself 
master of the city ; but, says an old historian # , the citizens 
and trades, having assembled in arms, seized him, and lodged 
and guarded him in the house of Craumbourg, in the name 
of the members of Flanders, of the states- general, and for 
their own security ; which they did with all civility and 
reverence, having all their heads uncovered, and treating 
him with all deference and respect, seizing and taking away 
from him his principal counsellors, and treasurers, etc. ; 
some of these servants of the prince were beheaded, and others 
transferred to Ghent. 

This event produced a lively sensation throughout the 
Low Countries. The members of government, yet at liberty, 
hastened to convoke the states-general at Mechlin, where 
young Philip then resided, but the assembly, probably to 
escape the influence which they no doubt wished to exercise 
over it, formed at Ghent, and thither the deputies of 
Flanders carried against the king of the Romans forty-seven 
heads of accusation. The following are the principal : 

It was said that he had broken the peace with France, 
sworn to by him as well as by the states, and that as he 
had not the power of himself, and of his own authority, to 
contract it, much less had he the power of violating it without 
the consent of the country ; 

That he had dissipated the goods and jewels of the house 
of Burgundy ; 

That he had styled himself lord and sovereign, without 
mentioning his quality of guardian ; 

That he had levied war on the Low Countries, under the 
pretext of punishing his rebellious subjects, whereas they were 
not his subjects, and could not therefore be rebels ; and that was 
the reason why they had been compelled, considering the wrong 

* Meteren. Traduction Franchise, in folio, 1518. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 373 

and violence which was done to them y to appeal to their 
sovereign the king of France ; 

That, contrary to his oaths, he administered neither law 
nor justice in a manner conformable to their privileges ; 

That he had granted and sold offices to foreigners con- 
trary to the privileges of the country ; 

That he had introduced taxes in Flanders, and levied 
them by force and with menaces, which taxes had not been 
unanimously and entirely granted; a thing which, being 
contrary to their privileges, even the lord and proprietor 
could not do, much less a guardian ; 

That he had prevented the states-general of the country 
from assembling as it seemed fit to them ; and that being 
assembled, he was unwilling they should communicate 
together for the public good ; that he permitted them 
merely to give their opinion on the propositions for imposts 
made in the name of the king of the Romans; and that those 
who wished to treat of other matters were held as suspected 
persons ; 

That he had coined money at Bruges without the name 
and arms of his son, their lawful sovereign; that he had 
raised the interest thereof without the consent of the 
states ; 

That contrary to their privileges he had established new 
tolls, which the lord himself could not do without the con- 
sent of the country. 

The Flemish deputies in demanding a reform of these 
abuses, excused themselves that on urgent necessity and for 
the profit of their true lord, they had been constrained to put 
the person of the king of the Romans in safe keeping, not 
for lessening his honour or doing him any injury, for they 
acknowledged him as the father of their true and lawful 
prince, to whom in such character they wished to render all 
due honour and reverence, since in honouring the father they 



374 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

honoured the son, but for preventing the ruin of the 
country*. 

The states -general wished Maximilian to be set at liberty 
beforehand, but the deputies of Flanders refused this, and 
the captivity of the prince was at last only terminated by a 
treaty with his subjects, in which he granted them every 
satisfaction, and promised to forget what had passed. 

Such was this revolution, singular, perhaps, in the an- 
nals of nations for the moderation which the people of a 
province were capable of preserving in so direct an attempt 
against the sovereign authority. 

/We have next to consider the form of government. Down 
to the reign of Charles V. affairs of state were administered 
by councils, of which the number was generally fixed at the 
will of the prince : sometimes they were united in one. A 
supreme magistrate, entitled grand chancellor of Burgundy, 
presided over the councils, and occupied the most elevated 
rank in the state. He was prime minister. This title was 
suppressed in 1518, and superseded by that of chief of the 



privy council 

ICharles V/ 4 established a more uniform government, 
which existed, with some modifications, until the revolution. 
He instituted three councils called collateral, because they 
were ad latus principis, sat in his palace, and in some mea- 
sure made a necessary appendage of his crown. These 
councils were the councils of state, in which the great 
affairs of the country, such as peace, war, alliance, etc., 
were deliberated upon ; the privy council, especially devote^ 
to affairs of justice ; and finally, the council of finances 
The letters patent of creation are dated 1531 f . Such then, 
with the municipal system firmly established in the towns, 
with the states of the provinces, and the states-general ex- 

* Meteren, etc. 

+ Memoires historiques et politiques des Pays-Bas Autrichiens, in 8vo. 

1784T 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 375 

traordinary, were the institutions of the Low Countries. 
Harmony resulted from this system, the sovereign content- 
ing himself, says the cardinal Bentivoglio, with an authority 
limited by the rights of the country, and the people with a 
liberty tempered by the rights of the crown. 

A measure, in its origin, anterior to Charles V., was com- 
pleted in his reign, and tended materially to place the set- 
tlement of the state on a firm footing. Maximilian, seeing 
the empire and the Low Countries subject to his sway, 
thought it would be good policy to unite these two great 
parts of his dominion to each other. In consequence he 
erected the seventeen Belgic provinces into a circle of the 
empire, called the circle of Burgundy. But in doing this 
he experienced great difficulties. At first both parties op- 
posed it. The empire viewed with a kind of jealousy a 
foreign state called by the will of the sovereign to enjoy all 
the high prerogatives which the members of the German 
confederation mutually guaranteed each other. In the Low 
Countries, the spirit of independence natural to the people 
took alarm at the powerful alliance which was proposed to 
them. The mere probability of the Germans interfering 
in the internal affairs of the country was sufficient to make 
it obnoxious. It was not therefore considered as defini- 
. tively adopted and passed into a law. 

The vigorous arm of Charles V. finished what the cir- 
cumspect character of Maximilian had only attempted. All 
difficulties were smoothed by the treaty of Augsburg in 1548, 
of which the object was to secure to the new circle a pro- 
tection which might be always useful, and could never be 
prejudicial to it. This treaty, concluded with the empire, 
and ratified by the states of the Belgic provinces, declared 
therefore the erection of the seventeen provinces and county 
of Burgundy into a circle, on the following conditions : 

" 1. That the said countries, under the protection of the 



376 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

emperor and the empire, should be associated in all the 
privileges, immunities, and rights of the empire ; 

" 2. That they should be maintained and defended like 
the other members of the empire ; 

" 3. That the sovereign of the Low Countries should have 
a right to send ambassadors, with a seat and voice in the 
Diet, on the same footing as the archduke of Austria ; 

" 4. That in the contributions of the empire, whether in 
troops or money, the circle of Burgundy should furnish as 
much as two electors ; 

"5. That when war was waged against the Turks, the 
circle should contribute as much as three electors ; 

" 6. That with the exception of the condition relating to 
the contributions of the empire, to which the sovereign 
and states of the circle of Burgundy should particularly 
agree, the provinces should remain exempt from all obliga- 
tions to the empire, as well as from every kind of imperial 
jurisdiction*." These are the points to which we invited 
the attention of the reader ; and we will now resume the 
series of events. 

The turbulent disposition of the Belgians did not leave 
undisturbed the brilliant reign of Charles V. But the dis- 
orders which broke out under that prince were transient, 
and did not materially affect the welfare of the provinces. 
A storm, however, was gathering. The new religious doc- 
trines agitated men's minds, and continued to gain ground, 
especially in the northern provinces, in spite of the vigilance 
exercised by the emperor's government. It was in this 
state of things that Charles, tired of glory and power, 
resigned the throne for the cloister. 

The reign of his successor Philip II. commenced under 
happy auspices. The Belgians were attached to his family 
and showed themselves disposed to serve him with enthu- 

* Histoire de l'Empire. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



377 



siasm. It was to their fine gendarmery, so renowned under 
Charles V., that he was indebted for his victories of Saint 
Quentin and Gravelines, while the person who bore the 
principal part in those triumphs, the celebrated but unfor- 
tunate count Egmont, was also a Belgian. Still it was not 
difficult to foresee that a foreign war could alone maintain 
amicable relations between a prince like Philip, whose dis- 
position inclined him to the most gloomy despotism, and a 
people like the Belgians, in whose national character a love 
of liberty shone as the most prominent feature. 

The peace of Chateau-Cambresis was scarcely concluded 
before Philip hastened to return to Spain, where the march 
of his government better corresponded to the suggestions 
of his stern and sanguinary genius. He conferred the 
government of the Low Countries on Margaret of Austria, 
natural daughter of Charles V., giving her as council the 
famous bishop of Arras, cardinal Granvella. Determined 
no longer to keep measures with heresy, his formal orders 
were to extirpate it by fire and sword. The barbarous 
edicts which Charles V., towards the end of his reign, 
seemed to have abandoned, were put in fresh vigour ; and 
finally, a council of blood (such is the name which was then 
given it), a tribunal of the inquisition, commenced its pro- 
ceedings, to convert these fine provinces into an arena of 
carnage, and instead of destroying, to ensure the triumph 
of heresy. 

From all which has been hitherto said, we may conceive 
the impression which these measures produced. The agi- 
tation that they excited made a rapid progress. Strong 
representations reached the foot of the throne. The king, 
at first, appeared to give way, and the cardinal was re- 
moved ; but this was only still farther to aggravate the evil 
by appointing for his successor the duke of Alba, a man 
whose memory will be for ever execrated by every friend 
to humanity. The governess Margaret demanded and 



378 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

obtained her recal. The provinces were now entirely aban- 
doned to the sword of Alba. His will decided every thing. 
All the ancient liberties of the country were violated, all 
jurisdictions overlooked : scaffolds were every where pre- 
pared, and the satellites of despotism, transformed into 
judges, every day augmented the number of victims. 

The dawn, however, of a more happy period was already 
breaking forth. A man, endowed with an energetic soul 
and ardent disposition, brooded in silence over the wrongs 
and calamities lavished on his country. He watched the 
progress of the public discontent, and meditated a 
struggle which should overthrow tyranny. This was 
the celebrated William of Nassau, prince of Orange. 
Two lords, count Egmont of whom we have spoken, and 
count Horn, sprung from one of the most illustrious fami- 
lies of the Low Countries, seconded his generous resolves : 
all hopes were turned towards these three great citizens, 
and they formed a point around which the hostile and vio- 
lent feelings that the government accumulated against it, 
all concentrated. 

Some partial associations were formed in the provinces. 
In 1566, a body of four hundred gentlemen had the courage 
to present a petition to the governess. The princess 
evinced some apprehension on seeing the leader of this 
band so well accompanied : Fear nothing, Madam, said 
a courtier, they are only beggars! This expression soon re- 
sounded through all the provinces, and helped to unite the 
scattered elements. The beggars entered into a vast con- 
federacy which only awaited the signal for taking up arms. 
The nobility assumed with enthusiasm the emblems of the 
beggarhood. They wore a grey coat and the humble wallet 
of the mendicant. A medal was seen suspended from the 
necks of the most daring, having on one side the king's 
effigy, and on the other two hands joined, with the motto ; 
Faithful even to the wallet. Their escutcheons and valets 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 379 

were decorated with the same signs. At length the chants 
of the evangelical assemblies always finished by cries, a 
thousand times repeated, the beggars for ever* , 

The duke of Alba thought to overawe the minds of men 
by increasing his severity. Counts Egmont and Horn 
were dragged to the scaffold, as if to teach the people to 
what an extent the confidant of Philip II. could carry his 
measures. His agents, filled with the savage delirium which 
inflamed their master, distinguished themselves by the most 
deplorable excesses ; while to celebrate their sanguinary 
triumphs, they erected a statue to the villain for whom no 
tortures would have been too severe a punishment. 

The ruinous taxes which he imposed brought his arbi- 
trary government to a conclusion. This was to transgress 
all bounds, and the insurrection became general. Men 
flocked to arms from all quarters : even the ecclesiastics 
declared that oppression ought to be resisted. The duke 
was recalled. The inhabitants of the provinces, in the 
sequel, imposed on themselves much more considerable sacri- 
fices than those which were now required from them ; but 
they rather chose, says Grotius on this subject, to give up all, 
of their own free will, than pay a tenth contrary to their 
privileges f. This reflection is applicable to all ages, and 
to all nations : it contains a general truth which those in 
power cannot meditate upon too often. 

But the sanguinary Spaniard was recalled too late. The 
fruits of his violence were already apparent. Civil war had 
every where broken out, and in the northern parts already 
assumed a character which promised important consequences. 
The prince of Orange had betaken himself there, and at the 
head of the hardy wassergueusen (sea beggars) had the year 
before seized upon the Brill. This success had produced a 

* Introduction a la Revolution des Pays-Bas, 1784. 
+ Annales de Rebus Belgicis. 



380 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

revolution in Zealand. I At length the states of that pro- 
vince, as well as those of Holland and Utrecht had as- 
sembled at Dordrecht, and acknowledged the prince of 
Orange as stadtholder in the king's name. By their act of 
union they declared that the provinces could only treat in 
conjunction ; and they made a solemn acknowledgment of 
Calvinism. A separation in fact was thus effected : but 
these people, faithful and loyal, were willing to be abso- 
lutely forced to break the yoke of obedience^ 

^The re-action produced in all the provinces in conse- 
quence of the success of William, and the retreat of the 
duke of Alba, led to the pacification of Ghent. That famous 
act was a union between all the provinces. It was therein 
declared, that the Spanish troops should withdraw from 
the Low Countries; that immediately after their departure 
an assembly of the states -general should be held to restore 
order in public affairs ; that the subjects of all the pro- 
vinces should be obliged to respect the catholic religion ; 
that the criminal ordinances of the duke of Alba should be 
suspended ; the property confiscated by him restored, and 
the statues erected to his honour, destroyed. The court of 
Madrid was obliged to give its consent to this important 
act, before it could get the governors whom it appointed, 
acknowledged by the states. The dominion of the Spa- 
niards in the Low Countries appeared on the eve of de- 
struction : their troops had a footing only in a few pro- 
vinces, while the civil war which, in spite of the arrange- 
ments of assemblies and councils, still continued, turned 
wholly to the advantage of the confederates. The prince 
of Parma, appointed governor in 1578, changed the face 
of affairs. His arms reconquered several provinces, and 
his abilities enabled him to profit from the divisions which 
broke out among the confederates. William, despairing 
then of maintaining the general union, conceived the idea 
of a particular confederacy between those provinces, which 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 381 

from their situation, seemed the best calculated to resist 
the attacks of Spain. These were the seven northern pro- 
vinces, bound together by the same maritime interests, as 
well as by the principles of the common faith that they 
had adopted. The act of union was concluded at Utrecht 
the 29th January, 1579. It established the republic of 
Holland*. 

This first and great dismemberment of the circle of Bur- 
gundy terminates our first part. In the second we shall 
pursue the history of the ten provinces which still conti- 
nued to form the sovereignty of the Low Countries. 

* Wiqueford, preuves, etc. 



382 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

PART SECOND. 

i Chapter I. — Down to the Reign of Joseph II. 



We have but few remarks to make on the interval which 
elapsed between the foundation of the republic and the 
reign of this monarch. The history of the Spanish or 
Austrian Low Countries certainly merits to be treated at 
greater length ; but our plan prescribes us limits ; and we 
are obliged, therefore, to confine ourselves to pointing out 
the political institutions introduced by sovereigns, and the 
successive dismemberments sanctioned by treaties. 

The situation of the Low Countries at this period was 
singular. Different influences constantly acted in different 
ways. The states-general still considered the pacification 
of Ghent as the law of the country, and they placed at the 
head of affairs, at one time, an arch-duke Mathias, of the 
house of Austria, at another a duke d'Anjou of the race of 
the Valois. On another side, Spain still kept an army 
in the field, of which the vicissitudes marked those of her 
government over the provinces. Almost all the states of 
Europe interested themselves in the quarrel. The Calvinists 
came from all quarters to chase Philip II. from a country 
which his ill-judged tyranny had raised against him ; 
while the Catholics flocked to the standard of a monarch 
who was the main support of that extensive league which 
had sworn the extermination of sectaries. Ambitious in- 
dividuals mixed their private ends with the general views. 
A chief, a town, a province, ceased to act up to the spirit 
of union, in order that they might create an individual in- 
terest. The confusion was general ; and the country, op- 
pressed by the Spaniards, exhausted by foreigners, and 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 383 

ravaged by the Calvinists, called aloud for a termination 
of its sufferings. 

At length the prince of Parma, after protracted hostilities 
and slow negotiations, succeeded in bringing back ten pro- 
vinces under the Spanish yoke. This distinguished general 
died in 1592, and the three governors-general who succeed- 
ed him only sustained the advantages which he had ac- 
quired. In 1596, the cardinal-archduke Albert was in- 
vested with this station by the court of Spain. The Low 
Countries had then time to breathe. Soon after, the peace 
of Vervins, concluded by Philip II. with Henry IV. de- 
livered them from the hostilities of France. Four days 
after the conclusion of this treaty, the king made a cession 
of the Low Countries to his daughter, the infanta Isabella 
Clare Eugenia, whom he gave in marriage to the cardinal- 
archduke. The act of cession, dated Madrid, 4th May, 
1598, declares that " the king has resorted to this measure, 
in consideration of the welfare and tranquillity of the Low 
Countries, in order to obtain a solid peace ; and inasmuch 
as the greatest happiness which could possibly accrue to 
them, would be that of being governed under the eye, and 
in the presence of their prince and lord. God is witness, 
continues the king, of the pain and solicitude which we 
have frequently experienced through not having been able to 
do more in person* as, in truth, we have greatly desired*." 
This is an edict of Philip II. 

Thus commenced the reign of Albert and Isabella. So 
much blood had not been shed entirely in vain. The ex- 
ample of France, restored to tranquillity, had an influence 
moreover on the minds of all men. The principles of a 
prudent toleration replaced in government the sanguinary 
maxims of the council of Madrid. The result was that 
memorable truce of twelve years, in which Henry IV. and 

* Memoires Historiques, 



384 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

the president Jeannin took so great a part. This truce, 
signed the 19th April, 1609, consolidated the republic of the 
United Provinces, and suspended the religious troubles 
which had now continued nearly half a century. 

At the expiration of the truce the war was renewed. It 
continued with more or less vigour until the treaty of 
Munster in 1648, which at length terminated this long con- 
test. This treaty abandoned to the United Provinces the 
territory of Limburg, together with several places of 
Brabant and Flanders, of which they were in possession. 
The Scheld was finally closed — a measure which ruined 
Antwerp, and destroyed the maritime commerce of the 
Spanish Low Countries. Two worlds, the East and West 
Indies, on the contrary, were resigned to the enterprising 
spirit of the Hollanders. 

The position of the Low Countries naturally served to 
render it the seat of war, as often a«s this should break out 
between France and the House of Austria. The vicissi- 
tudes of fortune, therefore, were capable, every moment, 
of producing partial dismemberment, and even of entirely 
subverting a state, which seemed placed there merely to 
serve as food for the ambition of the European monarchs. 
The treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, gained France several 
districts, and various strong places of the frontier provinces : 
it showed in a decisive manner the preponderance of that 
kingdom in the affairs of the continent. In 1667 war broke 
out anew between Spain and France. Louis XIV. entered 
the Low Countries at the head of an army, with the design 
of seizing certain provinces which, he pretended, ought to 
revert to his crown by the right of devolution. 

According to this right, the succession to property fell to 
the children of the first bed, when one of the parties con- 
tracted a second marriage. As therefore Maria-Theresa, 
queen of France, was the daughter of Philip IV. by a first 
marriage ; and Charles II., who had just succeeded this 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 385 

monarch, was his son by a second marriage, Louis pre- 
tended that the queen ought to be put in possession of dif- 
ferent countries in which this law appeared particularly to 
prevail # . The court of Spain replied that this principle of 
devolution could be only applied to the succession of indi- 
viduals, and that it could not be opposed with justice to the 
fundamental laws which established the indivisibility of 
the state of the Low Countries. These reasons were valid 
no doubt, but the legions of Louis XIV. were yet more 
potent, and the campaign of 1667 was almost a triumphal 
procession. His arms seemed destined to other conquests, 
when Europe took the alarm, and arrested, by the famous 
triple alliance, the course of his prosperity. This treaty, 
formed between Great Britain, Holland and Sweden, ob- 
liged France to make peace. It was signed in 1668 at Aix- 
la-Chapelle. Louis XIV. restored his recent acquisition of 
Franche-Comte, but preserved Lille, Charleroi, Douai, 
Courtrai, fyc, with their dependencies. Four years after, 
the war breaking out anew, it was terminated in 1678 by 
the treaty of Nimeguen, which delivered to France, besides 
Franche-Comte, several towns of Flanders and Hainault, 
such as Valenciennes, Conde, Bouchain, §c. Finally, the 
chamber called of Reunions, instituted by Louis XIV. for 
restoring to the crown all the lands which were thought to 
have formerly depended on Alsace, the three bishoprics 
and towns of the Low Countries ceded by treaty, having 
given rise to new hostilities, the contest was once more 
terminated in 1697 by the peace of Ryswick, which left 
things in the state in which the treaty of Nimeguen had 
placed them. 

The feeble reign of Charles II. had proved fatal to the 
Low Countries : It ended in 1700, and the new century 
opened with that famous war, called of the succession, 

* Traitedes Droits de la Reine tres-chretienne, refute par It bouclier 
d'etat et de justice, etc. 

Vol. I. 2 C 



386 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

which produced an almost general commotion in Europe. 
The victories of Marlborough and Eugene chased the 
French from the Low Countries, which they had at first oc- 
cupied in the name of Philip V., the grandson of Louis XIV., 
and now king of Spain. These countries then became the 
theatre of a revolution which changed the constitutive 
forms that had hitherto existed. Great Britain and Hol- 
land, united by the famous treaty called of the grand 
alliance, established a new government in the provinces. 
They created a council composed of Flemings, and invested 
it with the sovereignty in the name of Charles III., the 
competitor of Philip V. This council, however, was only 
a nominal government, since it was in fact subordinate to 
a commission of English and Dutch deputies which bore 
the title of the conference. It was the business of the com- 
mission to transmit the wishes of the allied powers to the 
council, and these wishes, after the semblance of a delibe- 
ration, were converted into laws. Such was the dependence 
of the council that it could not even refuse to repeal certain 
recent ordinances favourable to the commerce and industry 
of the Low Countries. The people of the Netherlands 
were then taught how deplorable is the dominion of a 
foreigner, especially when that foreigner is a jealous rival. 

The peace of Utrecht in 1713, with the treaties which 
followed soon after, terminated the war of the succession. 
The French prince preserved the crown of Spain ; but the 
Low Countries were detached and ceded to the emperor, to 
be possessed hereditarily in his family. This Emperor, 
Charles VI. was the archduke who had disputed with 
France the inheritance of Charles II. It was declared by Art. 
7, that the provinces of the Low Countries should be given 
up by the king of France and his allies, with the limits 
established by the treaty of Ryswick. They were thus 
placed in the number of states belonging to the imperial 
branch of Austria : an arrangement which secured Holland 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 387 

and the empire a barrier against France and Spain, and 
took away from these powers, now united by the ties of 
blood, the means that the possession of the Netherlands 
would have afforded, for attacking them to advantage. As 
moreover, the spirit of ancient compacts formed of these 
provinces a particular state which could be in no wise consi- 
dered as adhering to the Spanish monarchy, and of which 
the princes of the house of Austria were the natural and 
legitimate sovereigns, it may be said that the transaction 
was at once just and politic. 

The Low Countries were thus changed into a sovereignty 
under the government of Austria. By the pragmatic sanc- 
tion of Charles VI., successively adopted as a fundamental 
law by the states of the different provinces, and published 
at Brussels in 1725, in a general assembly of deputies from 
all the states, they became an integral part of the Austrian 
monarchy, hereditary and indivisible ; and in this state 
they remained until the French revolution. 

If we reflect ever so little on the history of the last two 
centuries, it appears evident that this arrangement, how- 
ever great its convenience, could not but be disagreeable to 
France. It was always a favourite object in the views of 
this power to enlarge her boundaries at the expense of the 
Netherlands ; and had she followed the path which the 
policy of Henry IV. and Richelieu pointed out to her, it does 
not seem unreasonable to conclude that she would have 
succeeded in attaining it. By setting Holland against her, 
on the contrary, by breaking that long alliance which had 
proved so beneficial to both states, France created in the 
councils of the republic a necessity which every year became 
more incumbent on her, of establishing and maintaining a 
strong barrier between the territories of that kingdom and 
her own. Such was the policy which their high mighti- 
nesses opposed with invariable success to the arms of 

2 C 2 



388 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

Louis XIV., and which gave rise to the settlement of the 
Austrian Low Countries. 

At the period we are now treating of, that spirit of rivalry 
between the Belgians and Dutch which time has only ren- 
dered more sensible, seems to have manifested itself in a 
striking manner. We have seen that the latter, while 
governing the Low Countries conjointly with the English, 
did not conceal their design of sacrificing the commercial 
interests of these provinces to their own. They then proved 
that they no longer regarded as sprung from a commonorigin 
a people who were yetoppressedby the double yoke of church 
and king. It was evident that in their eyes, the Low Coun- 
tries were to be considered merely as an interval which the 
French would have to traverse before they reached their own 
frontiers, and the insignificance of which, in other respects, 
it was their business to promote. The object of the states- 
general was attained by the celebrated treaty of the Barrier 
concluded in 1715, between Holland and the emperor. 
" We must regard the treaty of the barrier," says M. An- 
cillon*, " as the guarantee and completion of all the other 
treaties signed at Utrecht. The object of this treaty was 
to secure the Low Countries to the house of Austria, and to 
facilitate their defence by granting the Dutch the right of 
garrisoning a certain number of places, and of defending 
them in case of war. The United States thus gained a 
more secure frontier ; Austria was spared a considerable 
expense ; and Germany acquired a new bulwark against 
France." -This view of the subject is just, but the policy of 
Holland is far from being wholly embraced in it. That the 
treaty was directed against the prosperity of the Austrian 
Low Countries, is evident from a mere perusal of the arti- 
cles. Hence it was no sooner made public than the cla- 
mours against it were universal. The Belgians considered 

* Tome IV. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 389 

the ruin of their commerce inevitable, when they saw their 
rivals permitted to keep a body of troops on foot in their 
country. The states of Flanders and Brabant addressed 
strong representations on the subject to the imperial court : 
these representations gave rise to new conferences at the 
Hague that led to a convention which softened a little the 
humiliating and burdensome conditions of the treaty of the 
barrier. 

But it was not long before fresh opportunities were af- 
forded Holland for displaying her hostile disposition towards 
the neighbouring provinces. Some inhabitants of the latter 
had endeavoured, at the commencement of this century, to 
establish a direct trade from the port of Ostend with the 
coast of Guinea and the East Indies. The success of their 
enterprise excited the jealousy of the Dutch. They pre- 
tended that the treaty of Munster prohibited the Low 
Countries from the commerce of the Indies. The imperial 
court replied that the stipulation on this point evidently re- 
garded the navigation of Spain only, and could not be 
understood to affect the Belgic provinces. The discussions 
were becoming warm, when the emperor, by letters patent of 
1722, erected the famous company of the Indies, known 
under the name of the Ostend Company, " for navigating 
and trading to the East and West Indies, and on the coasts 
of Africa, as well on this side as beyond the Cape of Good 
Hope, in ail ports, harbours, places, and rivers, where other 
nations freely traffic." The Hollanders found no difficulty 
in drawing the attention of all the maritime powers to this 
establishment. It was every where apprehended that 
Austria would become a commercial power ; and the novel 
spectacle was exhibited of an European league, of which 
the apparent object was the guarantee of certain political 
interests, and the real end, the ruin of a society of Flemish 
merchants. 

The conferences between the powers terminated, as 



390 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

might have been foreseen, in the fall of the company. The 
emperor at first (A.D. 1727) agreed to restrict to seven 
years the license of thirty years which he had granted. 
And finally, 1731, all trade of the Austrian Low Countries 
with the East Indies was abolished ; and to avoid new dis- 
cussions relative to that of the West Indies, it was agreed 
that reference should be had on this point to the rules laid 
down in the treaty of Munster. Thus were the most va- 
luable interests of the Belgic provinces again sacrificed to 
the cupidity of Holland. 

From this time to the reign of Joseph II. the internal 
administration of the Netherlands remained nearly on the 
same footing. It was the custom during this interval, as 
in the time of Philip II., to govern them by a prince or 
princess of the imperial house. These sovereigns in gene- 
ral ruled their states with equity and moderation, because 
they soon perceived that it was the only means of ruling 
them in peace. The fundamental laws were respected ; and 
the institutions created a powerful re-action on public pros- 
perity. A complete table of these institutions will imme- 
diately follow this sketch. 

As to other points, the circle of Burgundy was become an 
empty title. The treaty of Munster, it is true, had recog- 
nised the Netherlands as members of the empire ; but the 
successive dismemberments which they experienced, at 
first diminished their contingent for the chamber of Wez- 
lar, and at length the duties to which they were subject, 
were overlooked, on the ground that they derived no ad- 
vantage from the union. They never received, in fact, any 
sort of assistance from the empire. 

Chapter II. — Until the Establishment of the Kingdom of 
the Netherlands, 

The reign of Joseph II, was a sort of prelude to the great 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 391 

drama of the revolution. Maria Theresa, towards the end 
of her reign, had given way to the influence which seemed 
to impel Europe to a great political reformation. She had 
commenced important ameliorations, and had levelled the 
first blow at the privileges of the nobility and clergy of her 
states. Her son, in ascending the throne, inherited her 
views. This prince was endowed by nature with a strong 
understanding : his liberal education and philosophic 
mind had been enlarged by his travels in several countries 
of Europe. It was said that a king's greatest happiness 
consisted in ruling a free people ; and Joseph II. wished to 
enjoy this pure felicity. Unhappily he forgot, that with 
despotism one can establish nothing, and least of all, liberty. 
He wished at once to effect a reformation, which, to be 
durable, ought to be brought about by successive efforts 
and by time, Such was the object of the famous decrees 
of 1781, which established the principles of a just tolera- 
tion with regard to the Greek and reformed Christians, 
abolished seignorial rights and the corvee, fyc. The two 
classes whose interests were at the same moment menaced, 
coalesced against him. The people, who were not en- 
lightened enough to comprehend and second the views of 
their sovereign, thought themselves attacked in the chains 
to which habit had subjected them. The discontent be- 
came general : disturbances broke out in various places ; 
and the prince expired, loaded with the maledictions of 
those whose deliverance he meditated. 

To confine ourselves to what particularly concerns the 
Low Countries in this remarkable reign : the first attempt 
of Joseph in their favour was directed to the Scheld, which 
preceding treaties had closed to the commerce of the 
Flemings. In certain conferences opened at Brussels for 
terminating some disputes relative to the execution of the 
treaty of the barrier, he caused it to be notified to Holland, 
that he would desist from all the pretensions heretofore 



392 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

sustained by his ministers, provided the republic would 
grant his Belgic subjects the free navigation of the Scheld 
and a direct trade with the Indies. He went even farther ; 
for he declared that he regarded these points as decided, 
and that all opposition on the part of the states-general 
would be in his eyes equivalent to a declaration of war. 
The republic, not at all intimidated, urged the faith of 
treaties, and stationed a squadron at the entrance of the 
river. Some Flemish vessels which attempted to force a 
passage were obliged to strike their colours. All this oc- 
curred in the year 1784. 

War appeared inevitable ; though no corresponding pre- 
parations were yet made on either side. Europe, as in the 
affair of the Ostend company, took an interest in this com- 
mercial quarrel ; and as the force of opinion began to be 
felt, each party wished to fix it in its favour. Writers en- 
tered the list. Linguet published for the emperor his 
Considerations on the opening of the Scheld, and young Mi- 
rabeau, instigated by the French ministry, replied. For 
the Low Countries was urged the law of nature, which 
willed that a nation should enjoy the free navigation of a 
river when a great part of its course lay within its territory. 
On the side of the republic it was insisted, that the in- 
dustry and labour of the Dutch had rendered the mouths of 
the river a real property to them. It was said that the 
safety even of the United Provinces demanded the closing 
of the Scheld. It was pretended, also, (and it deserves to 
be remarked) that the commercial advantages which accrued 
to Holland from the restrictions opposed to the commerce 
of Belgium, had chiefly determined the states-general to re- 
frain from making good their claims on the Low Countries, 
as having been formerly united to their provinces. The 
mediation of France terminated this discussion. By the 
treaty of Fontainebleau, 1785, the treaty of Munster was 
confirmed. The Scheld was interdicted anew to the Bel- 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 393 

gians ; and a sum of money freed the republic from all 
other imperial claims *. 

The mortification of the Belgians at the result of this 
negotiation corresponded to the enthusiasm with which 
they had viewed the attempts of Joseph in their favour ; 
and other measures of that monarch soon afforded fresh 
grounds for complaint. It was in 1786 that the emperor 
entered upon his new system for the internal administra- 
tion of these provinces. The Low Countries were divided 
into nine circles, having each a captain or intendant for 
chief. At the commencement of the following year, the 
general government communicated to the provincial states, 
to the superior tribunals, and bodies corporate, two con- 
stitutive diplomas, one of which related to the administra- 
tion, the other to a new judicial order. Many clauses in 
these decrees openly violated the capitulations and privi- 
leges of the provinces. They were passed too without the 
concurrence of the states — a thing of itself sufficient to ex- 
cite the alarm of the Belgians, had not the imperative 
style in which they were framed, rendered their rejection 
inevitable. One of these diplomas began with the follow- 
ing words : — 

" Joseph, by the grace of God, fyc. fyc. ; having resolved 
for the more prompt and regular administration and des- 
patch of the affairs of our Belgic provinces, to give a new 
form to the general government of the said provinces, We 
decree, and do ordain, as follows : 

" 1. We suppress the three collateral councils and the 
office of secretary of state, fyc." 

Remonstrances assailed the reformer on all sides. The 
petition of the states of Flanders is remarkable, and may 
afford an idea of the state of public feeling on the subject. 
After asking permission to claim at the foot of the throne, 

* Soulavie, Memoires du Regne de Louis XVI., tome V. 



394 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

execution of the treaty solemnly sworn to on the day of the 
emperor's inauguration as count of Flanders, the deputies 
exposed in forcible language, all the violations to this fun- 
damental compact, which the execution of the imperial 
diplomas gave rise to. They concluded thus : 

" For these causes, We come with the most lively and 
most respectful entreaties to prostrate ourselves at the foot 
of the throne, and to implore you, Sire, to preserve us in 
the enjoyment of all the advantages which are guaranteed 
to us by the inaugural oath of your majesty. 

" To repeal, in consequence, the edicts which encroach 
on our constitution and our rights. 

" To establish in Flanders a council of appeal, in which 
the faithful subjects of this province may obtain right and 
justice by judges versed in their laws and customs. 

6C To assure the preservation of the abbies, ecclesiastical 
and religious chapters, and communities ; to provide re- 
gular abbots for such houses as are without chiefs, in the 
way which has been always observed, and not to institute 
abbots in commendam. Not to suppress religious houses, 
and to confide to the states the management of such as 
have experienced this fate in Flanders. 

" To preserve to the magistrates of the respective towns 
and castlewards the administration of the police and public 
money. 

" To order that all commissioners shall be subject to 
the constitution of the country and the state, without 
being able to encroach in any manner on the rights and 
privileges appertaining to the magistrates. 

" To preserve the guardianship of minors to the ordinary 
jurisdiction. 

66 To keep up the deputation of the states, and their as- 
semblies in the capital of the province, on the old footing, 
preserving to them the administration of the public money. 

" Finally, we pray, in case any innovation be judged 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 395 

necessary, that it be not introduced without the concurrence 
of the states, who, were it to happen otherwise, could not 
refrain, the inaugural compact in hand, from remonstrating 
and protesting against all infractions which might result 
from it." 

The disaffection became yet more general, when it was 
perceived that the firm resolution of the emperor was to 
pay no regard to their representations. In several provinces 
bodies of volunteers were formed, and some states, by 
refusing subsidies to the government, seemed disposed to 
place themselves in open hostility. The governors-general 
(the duke of Saxe-Teschen, and the arch-duchess Mary 
Christina, mother of Joseph), were soon compelled by the 
general irritation to declare to the states their intention of 
provisionally re-establishing the ancient institutions. This 
declaration was contained in a letter dated the 28th May, 
1787, commencing in the following terms : — u Very reve- 
rend, reverend fathers in God, dear and well-beloved nobles. 
Having received and examined the representations which 
you addressed to us on the 15th of this month, we have 
communicated them to the emperor, proposing to his ma- 
jesty the measures most conformable to the wishes of the 
nation ; fully confident that you, relying on our cares and 
our sentiments, as well as on what we have declared and do 
again declare by these presents, will await with as much 
confidence as tranquillity the resolution which the present 
. distance of his majesty must necessarily delay." 

Events did not correspond to the hopes of the governors. 
The following day a formidable insurrection broke out at 
Brussels. An innumerable multitude, armed, and wearing 
the Belgic lion on the breast, surrounded the palace of the 
princes, and repulsed their guards. Already had a member 
of the assembly of the states pronounced the word republic : 
the government thought itself obliged to conform to the 
public wishes when so violently expressed ? and solemnly 



396 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

proclaimed that all innovations were, and should remain 
suppressed, and that the ancient institutions should be 
every where restored. A calm succeeded ; and the emperor, 
compelled to submit his imperious will to the courage of 
the people, agreed to every thing. 

In an age less recent it may be presumed that these com" 
motions, after such a triumph of the popular voice, would 
have terminated ; for what particularly characterizes the 
people, whose history we are treating of, is a sort of restraint 
e ven in their most violent measures. But the spirit which 
was about to shake all the thrones of Europe had already 
made rapid progress in this country. People dreamed only 
of independence, and were indignant at the thought of being 
governed by a foreigner. The triumph which liberty had 
just gained only served the more to inflame minds elevated 
with the idea of perfect freedom. A spark was alone want- 
ing to kindle a new conflagration. 

Joseph had given way ; but he still preserved the hope of 
finally accomplishing his designs. He now therefore went 
to work in a more secret manner, and with that obstinacy 
which was characteristic of him. He founded seminaries 
in various places, in which the rising generation, by being 
instructed in the new doctrines, might be brought over to 
his measures. Between these schools and those of the 
ancient and celebrated university of Louvain, a competition 
ensued which turned wholly to the advantage of the latter, 
since it was sufficient for the others to have owed their 
establishment to the emperor, to be rendered unpopular. 
Joseph, who felt no affection for this university since the 
part it had taken in the late troubles, sought to humble it 
by attacking .its privileges. The youth undertook its 
defence, and fresh agitation was excited. Some subsidies 
demanded by the emperor, were refused by the states of 
Hainault and Brabant. His indignation no longer knew 
any bounds. He dissolved the states and the sovereign 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 397 

council, abolished the joyous entry, and even repealed the 
amnesty which he had previously granted. Several persons 
were arrested. 

The formal design, it is thought, was now conceived 
amongst that class of persons who affected the name of pa- 
triots, of withdrawing their country from the Austrian yoke. 

The political sentiments of these provinces underwent a 
total change. The first disorders were excited in favour of 
the aristocracy and priesthood against revolutionary inno- 
vations : now, the minds of men were drawn by other 
agitators than the emperor towards innovations still more 
revolutionary. But it is not to be wondered that the 
plebeians, with whom these revolutionary principles origi- 
nated, should succeed in changing their character in the 
eyes of an unenlightened people, or that these last, in- 
structed by them, should aim at the subversion of the 
constitution, in defence of which, only the year before, 
they had taken up arms. These rapid fluctuations in 
public opinion, of which we find examples in the history 
of every society, deserve to be noticed. 

The patriots, however, were not all of the same opinion. 
The aristocratical party, as they were termed, having in 
view only a reform of the established institutions, and con- 
tent to remain under the Austrian government, refused 
to advance any farther. The more violent republicans, on 
the contrary, meditated nothing short of the absolute inde- 
pendence of their country. The whole of Belgium was di- 
vided between these two factions. The advocate Vonk, 
and the duke D'Aremburg, were the heads of the aristo- 
cratical party. Another advocate named Van-der-Noot, 
and the penitentiary Van-Eupen, led the republicans. 
" Van-der-Noot," says M. Segur*, " an advocate without 
intelligence, an intriguer without genius, but a verbose 
and bold speaker, the blind instrument of the priest Van- 

* Tableau politique, torn. 1. 



398 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



Eupen, a profound hypocrite and skilful politician, in- 
flamed the minds of men in the name of religion and 
liberty." 

A conspiracy was formed, and the two parties entered 
into it with equal readiness. The plot was at first confined to 
ten persons, of whom Van-der-Noot was one. Each of these 
was to engage ten others, and so on. When a sufficient 
number of associates was thus collected, they were to take 
up arms in various places, at the same moment, and proceed 
to drive out the Austrians. 

At first the councils of the more moderate party prevailed, 
and all things went on successfully. A colonel named Van- 
der-Merschwas appointed general of the confederate forces. 
The Austrians were compelled to evacuate, in succession, 
all the places which they occupied. Van-der-Noot, on the 
18th December, 1789, made his triumphal entry into Ant- 
werp, and' on the 26th of the same month, the emperor 
Joseph II. was declared by the states to have forfeited his 
sovereignty, for having violated the joyous entry. The 
example of Brabant was imitated by the other provinces. 

An assembly of deputies from all the Belgic provinces 
met at Brussels, and signed on the 11th of January, 1790, an 
act by which these provinces bound themselves in a confe- 
deracy under the title of the United Belgic States. By this 
constitution a sovereign congress was formed by deputies 
from the provinces : but each preserved its independence, 
as well as the exercise of the legislative power*. This state 
of things did not continue long. Intrigues without, and 
errors within, subverted the new republic at the end of a 
year ; and after experiencing a re-action, a consequence of 
the divisions which we have before noticed, the Nether- 
lands returned to their obedience. The congress treat- 
ed with the emperor Leopold, who had just succeeded 

* See Constitutive Laws of the Austrian Netherlands. 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 



399 



Joseph II. He engaged to govern according to the ancient 
constitutions of the country, and to annul every thing 
which his predecessor had done to the contrary. Those 
who had taken up arms laid them down one after the 
other : the principal patriots took to flight, and the impe- 
rialists entered Brussels on the 2nd of December. Such was 
the end of this revolution. 

In the mean time France was advancing with rapid strides 
in that career in which Belgium failed. War broke 
out between the new republic and the sovereigns of 
Europe. The Belgic provinces became the theatre of its 
first triumphs, and yielded in succession to its arms. 
Finally, on the 1st of October, 1795, (year III.), the 
union of Belgium and the territory of Liege with the 
French territory, was solemnly decreed. "Nearly twenty 
years had elapsed when the fortune of war again gave 
Belgium a change of masters. The allied sovereigns after 
their victory at Leipsic, having invaded the departments 
which formerly composed the Austrian Netherlands, re- 
ceived a deputation from the provinces, claiming their 
independence. The project that was afterwards carried into 
execution, was already contemplated, and the deputation 
did not receive a satisfactory reply. The Belgians saw 
with regret the appointment of a governor-general left 
to the emperor of Austria : but their fate was soon after 
ultimately fixed by the creation of the kingdom of the 
Netherlands, an act of European policy to which we may 
hereafter have occasion to return. 



400 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 

PART THIRD. 
REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. 

Chapter I. — 'Until William III. 

We have traced the principal circumstances of that reli- 
gious and political revolution which brought a new power 
on the theatre of the world, down to the act of confedera- 
tion which established it. It now remains for us, setting 
out from that point, to continue the historical sketch of the 
Dutch republic until our own times. 

The prince of Orange had done much towards the inde- 
pendence of the provinces, in uniting them, by a constitu- 
tional bond, in a firm league against the oppressor. But 
there still remained much to do. The infant confederacy 
was assailed on all sides, and possessed only feeble means 
to oppose a colossal power. The Spaniards had restored 
their affairs in the southern provinces, and were preparing 
considerable armaments. The Calvinists of France could 
with difficulty make head against their enemies at home : 
Germany furnished.soldiers only to those who could afford 
to pay for them ; while England, as if she foresaw the 
future destiny of the republic, seemed inclined to afford her 
assistance no farther than might be necessary to prevent its 
fall. It was under these circumstances, and to express the 
apprehensions they entertained for the future, that the 
states caused a medal to be struck in which a vessel was 
seen exposed to the mercy of the waves, without sails and 
without rudder, with this inscription : Incertum quo fata 
ferant # . 

But the genius of the pilot supplied every deficiency. He 

* Puffendorf, Introduction to the History of the Universe, vol. iii. cap. vi. 



OP THE NETHERLANDS, 401 

inspired his companions in arms with the resolution which 
animated himself. The successes of the prince of Parma 
were counterbalanced, and the prodigious impulse given to 
commerce soon afforded inexhaustible resources. A second 
example was thus exhibited to Europe of that incalculable 
power which the spirit of liberty engenders, and which 
was destined at a later period to present a still more im- 
posing picture. 

Philip, however, incensed at the dismemberment of his 
monarchy, thought himself no longer obliged to keep any 
measures with his enemies. He proscribed th3 liberator of 
the United Provinces, and promised a reward of twenty- 
five thousand crowns for his head. The states replied to 
this violent act by a formal declaration of independence. 
This took place in the year 1581, up to which time every 
thing had been done in the name of the king of Spain. 

The appeal made to fanaticism was heard. William fell, 
a few years after, beneath the stroke of an assassin, who 
was instigated to the action by some monks — a great man, 
unquestionably, but whom we cannot entirely clear from 
the reproach of having mixed some views of individual 
ambition with the aspirations of the noblest patriotism. 

His death spread consternation throughout the provinces, 
but it served still higher to excite that horror which the 
very name of Philip II. now inspired, and consequently to 
confirm them in their resolution of shaking off his yoke. 

A closer union was negotiated with queen Elizabeth, 
and her assistance obtained by means of the important 
cession of the Brill, Raemkens, and Flushing. Finally, this 
princess sent to the states a governor-general, chosen from 
amongst her favourites. This was the celebrated Dudley, 
earl of Leicester, whom, according to some writers, she 
intended to raise to the throne. This choice was so far 
fortunate for the republic, that the levity of the English 
nobleman led him to disclose more easily the secret and 

Vol. I. 2D 



402 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

interested designs of his court. The attention of the Du*ch 
was awakened by his intrigues : they watched his conduct 
with suspicion, and his numerous indiscretions soon afford- 
ed room for loud complaints. The earl was recalled, and the 
general command conferred on young Maurice of Nassau, 
the son of William, and who had already succeeded him in 
some of his offices. 

The office of stadtholder, which was now finally esta- 
blished, merits some observations. It is evident that the 
object which the compilers of the act of Utrecht had chiefly 
in view was to oppose a powerful league against the efforts 
of the king of Spain. To effect this, they had it not in their 
power to frame a regular and uniform federal constitution, 
since a work of this kind would have required a calmer mo- 
ment ; neither was a close and intimate union of the pro- 
vinces so indispensable as to justify the risk of exciting a 
mass of local interests, and setting them in opposition to 
the general weal. That this would have been the result of 
any attempt to amalgamate the respective governments is 
clear from the national character of the people, who have 
been always distinguished for a scrupulous attachment to 
their constitutive usages. Under these circumstances it 
was prudent therefore to prefer an act of federation to a 
federative constitution. 

What was most necessary, at this period, was that all the 
forces of the state should be actively directed to one end ; 
and this could only be attained by vesting a variety of powers 
in a single person. The fundamental act, therefore, invested 
the stadtholder with great powers : his influence was such, 
that on some occasions afterwards, there was nothing but 
the title of king wanting to render him completely so. The 
fundamental act contains manifest contradictions on this 
point, and in fact, it was the manners of the people that in 
Holland chiefly served to check the tendency of her political 
institutions. The government was constantly on the point 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 403 

of degenerating into a monarchy ; but the national charac- 
ter, strongly tinged with republicanism, arrested all the 
attempts of ambition. The prince and people were con- 
stantly reminded of the declaration of 1581, in which it 
was expressly laid down that the general will may expel the 
sovereign, when he has rendered himself the enemy of the 
country by his oppressive conduct. 

It might have been foreseen, however, that a magistracy 
invested with such high powers would continually tend to 
aggrandize itself, and that in consequence a perpetual con- 
test would ensue between those who might be called to dis- 
charge it, and the delegates of the nation, the real sove- 
reigns, according to the fundamental laws. Such in fact 
is the history of the stadtholdership. We see the princes 
invested with this title perpetually struggling to diminish 
the power of the states-general in order to increase their 
own, a policy, as we shall have occasion to observe, that 
frequently gave rise to sanguinary excesses. 

" However little we reflect on the constitution of the 
United Provinces," says a certain writer *, "we at once 
perceive that all the powers of the state had their origin in 
the regencies of the towns, since their deputations com- 
posed the provincial states, as the deputations of these last 
composed the states-general. It is clear, therefore, that by 
exercising an influence over the appointment of magistrates 
in the towns, the stadtholder would have the regencies, and 
consequently the provincial states and states-general, en- 
tirely at his disposal; and be thus enabled, after being 
already invested with the most important branches of exe- 
cutive power, to usurp the legislative power also. And 
such, in fact, was the invariable policy of the stadtholders 
from William I. to William V. without exception." 

The United Provinces did not, properly speaking, form 

* Memoire surla Revolution deHollande, by M. Caillard, in VHhtoire 
de Frederk'Gmllaume II. by M. le comtede Segur, torn. 1. 

2 D 2 



404 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



one republic, but rather a confederacy of several republics, 
of which each preserved its government, and its share of 
the sovereignty *. This sovereignty, considered individually, 
resided in each assembly of states of the seven provinces, 
and on points of general concern, in the national congress 
bearing the title of the states-general. This assembly, com- 
posed at first of the provincial states nearly entire, changed 
its form towards the accession of Maurice to the stadthol- 
dership. It met but rarely, because the number of deputies, 
sometimes exceeding eight hundred, rendered the discus- 
sions tedious and disorderly. The council of state repre- 
sented this assembly when it did not sit, and watched over 
the execution of its decrees. But this arrangement appear- 
ing liable to abuse, the provinces required that a permanent 
deputation should be chosen out of the states which should 
exercise the share of authority that the constitution assign- 
ed to these representative bodies. This proposition was 
adopted : and there thence came to sit at the Hague the 
assembly known under the title of the states-general, 
although, in reality, it was nothing more than a representa- 
tion of that body. 

The assembly of the states-general has been compared to 
a council of ambassadors whose engagements must be rati- 
fied by their respective sovereigns. This comparison is just 
enough. Each province, in virtue of the portion of sove- 
reignty which it enjoyed, had a right to refuse by its states 
consent to the measures adopted by its deputies in con- 
cert with those of the other provinces. In this arrangement 
we perceive the jealous solicitude of a people willing to 
preserve their particular liberties, even if they compromised, 
by slowness of action, measures of general concern. 

It is necessary to observe, moreover, that just as the re- 
lations of the deputies to the states-general with their re- 

* Grotius Apolog. cap. 1. 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 405 

spective states, were modified according to the particular 
constitution of the province they represented, so the poli- 
tical circumstances of the stadtholder were not every where 
the same. He was the captain and admiral general of the 
republic, and the depositary of such portion of the executive 
power as the constitution of each state assigned to him. 
This distinction is important, and the more so, because 
many writers, through not having observed it, have failed 
in rendering their accounts sufficiently intelligible and clear. 

Maurice took the following oath : " I promise and swear 
to the confederate states of the Low Countries which shall 
remain in the alliance and defence of the reformed religion, 
to the high and low nobility, and to the magistrates of the 
towns of Holland and West Friesland, who represent the 
said nations, to be faithful and obedient to them ; and that 
I will myself obey, and will so act that the officers of the 
army, the captains and others who are subject to our com- 
mand, shall be obedient to the laws and orders of the con- 
federate states in general, and particularly to those of Hol- 
land." 

In a future page the constitution of the United Provinces 
will be more fully described ; for the present let us resume 
our narrative. 

<< The fortunes of the republic were now established on a 
firm basis. The valour of Maurice had brought to a con- 
clusion the work which the profound genius of William had 
contemplated. The seven United Provinces flourished under 
a government at once strong and free. The population of 
the new state were distinguished by those simple and un- 
corrupted manners, by that patient toil and active industry, 
that strong and determined spirit, which are the best sup- 
ports of present, and the surest harbingers of future, great- 
ness. The flag of the republic already waved on every sea ; 
commerce had already raised several towns to a high degree 
of wealth and importance ; already were those useful works 



406 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

in the interior planned, and those conquests in both hemi- 
spheres contemplated, which proved at once so conducive to 
its interests and its glory. The mind is struck with asto- 
nishment while contemplating this period of the history of 
Holland. She had commenced her career like Venice ; but 
in a few years had overleaped the bounds which it cost the 
Italian republic several centuries to attain*." 

Passing over, as foreign to our purpose, the memorable 
wars of which the Low Countries were the theatre after the 
death of William, and in which were exhibited the rival 
talents of Maurice and Spinola ; we hasten to the first im- 
portant result gained by the constancy of the Dutch, namely, 
the truce of 1609. 

Every thing contributed to this event. Philip II. was no 
more, and his son appeared inclined to waste in the practices 
of a minute and indolent bigotry the years which heaven 
promised his sceptre. Spain was exhausted by the long 
efforts which she had made to support the civil wars of 
France and the Low Countries. England and France were 
advancing in a course of uninterrupted prosperity, and their 
firm union with the new republic was capable of alarming 
the council of Castile as to the future fate of the provinces 
which Spain yet held. These provinces, too, tired of a war 
which seemed prolonged merely for the gratification of a 
vain pride, were unanimous in their wish for its conclusion ; 
and the archdukes who governed them were no less solici- 
tous to obliterate the calamities of war by a mild and tran- 
quil reign. The enemies of Holland were thus gradually 
brought over to more amicable sentiments ; and as early as 
the year 1607, there were already some conferences relative 
to a general pacification. 

We have before hinted at the rise of those divisions in 
Holland which afterwards led to sanguinary effects. Those 

* Continuation de THistoire de France de Vely.— Henri IV. torn. iii. 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 407 

who had so resolutely contributed to the deliverance of their 
country were now ranged under different banners. The 
celebrated Olden Barneveld, grand pensionary of Holland, 
was considered the head of the men really devoted to 
liberty : on Maurice's side were ranged all those enthusiasts 
in military glory, who were merely solicitous that the 
Spanish yoke should not be re-established. Barneveld, 
having detected the ambitious views of the general, opposed 
them on all occasions with the talents of a consummate 
statesman, and the virtues of an ancient republican. When 
the negotiations commenced, the opposite views of these 
two illustrious personages appeared still more conspicuous. 
Barneveld thought, and with justice, that nothing more 
was wanting to the firm establishment of the republic than 
a few years of peace ; and Maurice, by means of a few vic- 
tories more, believed himself sure of determining the Dutch 
to change his stadtholder's baton into a regal sceptre. This 
division, as maybe readily conceived, retarded the progress 
of the negotiations * ; but the ability of the minister 
whom Henry IV. had got accepted as mediator (the presi- 
dent Jeannin) finally triumphed over all obstacles, and a 
truce of twelve years was signed on the 9th of April. France, 
by this transaction, gave the last blow to the political in- 
fluence of Spain in Europe, and it was now her turn to exer- 
cise a suitable preponderance in the affairs of the continent. 
The new republic, at peace with all the world, advanced 
with rapid strides in the brilliant career which had been 
opened to it. Its famous East India company was formed 
in 1602, and already had it poured on the provinces incal- 
culable riches. In the equinoctial seas, its arms had every 
where dispossessed the Portuguese of their acquisitions ; 
and from the rapid increase of its marine, one could already 
predict the rank that it was afterwards called to occupy 
among the nations of Europe. 

* Memoires et Negotiations de President Jeannin, 3 vols, in 8vo. 






408 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

The war recommenced at the end of the truce in 1621, a 
few years after that religious and political quarrel between 
the Arminians and Gomarists in which Maurice found an 
opportunity for destroying Barneveld, and of thus avenging 
himself of the constant opposition which his projects had 
encountered in that great man ; an infamous action, and an 
indelible stain on the memory of this stadtholder. 

Maurice died in 1625. Frederic-Henry his brother, im- 
mediately after his death, was invested by their high mighti- 
nesses with the offices of captain and admiral general. The 
states of Holland appointed him stadtholder a few days 
after. The other provinces successively concurred in this 
election, with the exception of Groningen and Ommeland, 
which conferred the dignity on another prince of the same 
family. Frederic-Henry sustained the war with valour and 
success. His administration was distinguished for justice 
and ability ; and of all the stadtholders, he may be con- 
sidered as the one the most free from attempts against the 
liberties of the republic. This prince died a short time be- 
fore the conclusion of the treaty of Westphalia. His son 
William II. succeeded him, and lived long enough to prove 
that he had no intention of following the steps of Frederic- 
Henry. He died two years after the conclusion of the treaty 
of Munster, by which Spain definitively acknowledged the 
United Provinces as an independent power, and sacrificed 
the commerce of the Belgic Provinces by closing the Scheld. 



Chapter II, and Last. — >To the Establishment of the 
Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

The policy which governed Elizabeth in her intercourse 
with the United Provinces survived her. This policy, after, 
as during the reign of that princess, was to assist the repub- 
lic as far as might be necessary for rendering it a bulwark 
against the preponderating powers of the Continent, but 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 409 

striving, at the same time, by underhand means, to check 
the progress of its commercial prosperity. 

The tomb of William II. was the cradle of William III. 
He was born a few days after the death of his father ; and 
this infant, who was destined to wear a foreign crown, saw 
himself threatened by a revolution, with the loss of the 
very dignity which his ancestors had, in some degree, ren- 
dered hereditary in his family. The preceding stadtholders 
had shown their ambitious designs too clearly for the republic 
not to view their office with jealousy. The opportunity which 
the minority of William III. afforded was seized for sus- 
pending the exercise of it ; and soon after the province of 
Holland not only abolished the stadtholdership, but even 
engaged to exert itself to the utmost to bring the other 
provinces to a similar resolution, or at any rate, to deter- 
mine that the offices of captain and admiral-general should 
never be vested in the person of the stadtholder of one or 
more provinces. The administration, therefore, became 
wholly republican ; and the better to assure the continuance 
of this state of things, it was resolved that the election of 
magistrates, and the appointment to offices, should for ever 
remain vested in the towns. The act by which this revo- 
lution was brought about is called the perpetual edict, and 
was passed in 1667. Its principal author was John de 
Witt, grand pensionary of Holland. 

Foreign influence concurred with patriotic zeal towards 
the abolition of the stadtholdership. Cromwell, through 
hatred against the house of Orange, which was allied to 
that of Stuart ? had caused a secret article to be inserted in 
the peace of Westminster, A.D. 1654, by which the states 
of Holland and West Friesland engaged never to elect the 
young prince, the son of William II. and an English prin- 
cess. He had before proposed the union of the two republics 
in one state, of which the two principal parts should pre- 
serve their respective forms of government; and some 
conferences had been held at the Hague on the subject: 



410 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

but the promptness with which the protector's proposal 
was rejected betrayed the real spirit prevalent in the United 
Provinces with regard to England. There are two things 
here worthy of remark. The first is that union of the 
houses of Holland and England, which was always an ob- 
ject of suspicion with the party that affected the patriotic 
principles and virtues of Barneveld ; the second, that stea- 
diness of political views in the councils of Great Britain 
towards, or rather against Holland, which led the protector 
to act exactly as would have acted the monarch whom he 
had dethroned. 

The republic, in the mean while, under the happy aus- 
pices of John de Witt, became every day more flourishing. 
Its internal administration was improved; and its com- 
mercial empire extended. It was at this epoch that Ruyter 
burnt the English vessels at Chatham, and carried terror 
and consternation as far as London itself. 

The intrigues of the court of England, and the victories 
of Louis XIV. changed the face of affairs. It was the 
policy of Charles II. to see the stadtholdership restored, as 
it had been that of Cromwell to overthrow it. The party 
of the house of Orange, therefore, was revived through the 
instigation of that prince, and fresh troubles were prog- 
nosticated. In another quarter, Louis XIV. longed to 
chastise the insolence of those haughty merchants who had 
checked the progress of his arms by the triple alliance. 
He succeeded in severing the bonds which united the feeble 
Stuart with the republic, and passing the Rhine in 1672, 
entered Holland. His conquests were rapid. The pro- 
vinces of Guelderland, Utrecht, and Over-Yssel, were sub- 
dued in a few weeks. The French penetrated as far as 
Muyden, within four leagues of Amsterdam. The republic 
seemed lost : and some persons even went so far as to pro- 
pose transporting the seat of government to the East Indies. 

It was under these discouraging circumstances that the 
advocates of the stadtholdership acquired additional strength 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 411 

and energy. Every one exclaimed that a stadtholder, as in 
the time of William I., could alone save the country. The 
people, who never heard the name of the liberator of the 
United Provinces without a sentiment of enthusiasm, re- 
plied to this appeal by massacring the two brothers De 
Witt, and by proclaiming the heir of the house of Orange. 
It was thus that twenty years of glorious services were 
repaid, and the stadtholdership restored*. 

William was then twenty-two years of age. As if to 
reward him, before hand, for all that was expected from his 
abilities, the people required that the stadtholdership, with 
the offices of captain and admiral-general, should be declared 
hereditary in his family. The province of Guelderland, 
the following year, went so far as to offer him the title of 
sovereign duke. His inclination prompted him to accept 
it, but policy suggested otherwise ; and the other provinces, 

* Historians generally agree in attributing- the fall of the De Witts to X 
their inveterate opposition to the advancement of the prince of Orange, / 
and to the zeal with which they pursued the interests of their own party to \ 
the detriment and even extreme danger of their country. Ever since the 
death of William II. they had been actively engaged in remodelling the 
army. The old officers, both native and foreign, who had served under 
that prince, and were thought to be attached to his family, were carefully 
removed, and superseded by the sons or kinsmen of burgomasters and other 
magistrates devoted to their cause. Besides, the treaty of Munster had 
relieved Holland from the hostilities of Spain, and there did not appear 
any immediate danger on the land frontiers of the country ; while on the 
sea-side, on the contrary, two wars with England had called forth all the 
maritime resources of the state. From the policy of the De Witts there- '"\ 
fore, and from the foreign relations of the republic, the army, at the 
invasion of Louis XIV., was found in a totally inefficient state, and the I 
whole country, generally, incapable of resistance. " Their towns," says 
Sir W. Temple, " were without order; their burghers without obedience; 
their soldiers without discipline, and all without heart." No wonder 
then that the people, seeing their country, which had resisted all the efforts 
of Spain for upwards of half a century, overrun and conquered in a few 
weeks by France, should consider themselves betrayed, and turn for relief 
to that family which had before so nobly protected them. Vide Sir W. 
Temple, Observ. upon the United Provinces, c. viii. Description of 
Holland, anon. 1743. — E. 



412 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

who had witnessed with astonishment this inconsiderate 
offer, resounded with his praises. 

The talents of the new stadtholder, assisted by the errors 
of France, saved the republic. His energetic measures at 
first opposed some resistance to the French arms ; and soon 
after, a league was formed which obliged Louis XIV. to 
retrace his steps, and evacuate Holland. The war was 
terminated by the peace of Nimeguen in 1678, by which 
the republic recovered Maestricht, the only town which 
France held at the time. 

The repeal of the perpetual edict, and the project for de- 
claring the stadtholdership hereditary, seemed to forbode 
a great change in the constitution of the republic. It ap- 
peared on the point of degenerating into a sort of repre- 
sentative monarchy. William knew how to avail himself 
of the public gratitude for establishing, on a sure founda- 
tion, the power with which he had just been invested. Under 
the pretext of punishing the provinces which had shown a 
disposition to detach themselves from the confederacy, by 
the reception they had given the French, he contrived, either 
by address or violence, to deprive them of the right of 
electing their magistrates, and to make it a prerogative of 
the stadtholdership. These provinces were Guelderland, 
Utrecht, and Over-Yssel. It will be at once seen, from 
what has been before observed, that the stadtholder gained 
by this measure a real sovereignty over three sevenths of 
the republic, that is, over a considerable portion of the 
states-general, which was necessarily devoted to him, be- 
cause it sat there chiefly by his influence. The act which 
invested the prince with these important prerogatives is 
called the Regulation of 1674. Finally, one year before the 
peace of Nimeguen, William espoused Mary of England, 
daughter of the duke of York. He sought, in this mea- 
sure, like his predecessors, to establish his power on an 
alliance with the British crown. But considerations of 



OP THE NETHERLANDS. 413 

profound policy had no doubt their influence in determining 
the stadtholder to a union which he knew could not but be 
offensive to the Dutch. It is probable that he saw in it the 
source of his future grandeur, and of that fortune which 
was destined to affect all the political relations of Europe. 

His hopes were realized in 1688. He was called by the 
national voice to the throne of England. Two states, often 
enemies, and always the rivals of each other, were thus united 
under the same sceptre. This increase of power could not 
fail to augment the preponderance of William in the affairs 
of the republic ; and hence it was said that he was a king 
in Holland, and a stadtholder in England, where his reign 
was far from being tranquil. 

The war of the succession broke out, and the stadtholder 
found a fresh opportunity for increasing his authority by a 
privilege still more formidable than the regulation of 1674. 
The principal movements of the troops, according to the 
constitution, were obliged to be submitted by the captain 
general to their High Mightinesses— a form, it must be 
acknowledged, which could not but be subject to great 
inconveniences, since it prevented that celerity which is so 
essential in war. William succeeded in removing this 
inconvenience, and obtained from the states-general the 
power of disposing of the army as he thought proper, with- 
out being obliged to make a previous reference to their 
decision. 

This concession was at first made for one campaign only: 
necessity kept it in vigour during the following campaigns, 
and it at length became a right de patentes, which remained 
attached to the stadtholdership until the extinction of that 
dignity. 

William died in 1702; and the patriotic party, who had 
trembled for the freedom of the republic during the govern- 
ment of this stadtholder-king, had sufficient credit once 
more to restore the perpetual edict, and to cause the stadt- 



414 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

holdership to be abolished. The general direction of 
affairs was anew confided to their High Mightinesses, and 
proved no less successful than that which they had exercised 
previous to the accession of William III. The war, after 
being sustained with courage, was terminated by the peace 
of Utrecht ; and two years after, the states-general con- 
cluded the famous treaty of the barrier — a treaty repre- 
sented by some as a transaction of the most profound policy, 
and by others as an affair of complete insignificance. 

The second war of the succession, which commenced in 
1740, at the death of the emperor Charles VI. occasioned a 
new alteration in the government of the republic. The 
Dutch arms being unsuccessful, the partisans of the stadt- 
holdership thought a favourable opportunity afforded for 
exciting discontent. Loud complaints against the govern- 
ment were every where heard, and the people, always 
inconstant in their wishes, replied as before by calling 
aloud for a stadtholder. Zealand gave an example which 
all the provinces successively followed; and in the space of 
fifteen days, the revolution was completed. The stadt- 
holdership was restored, and with it, all the prerogatives 
arrogated by the last stadtholder. They went still further, 
and formally decreed, in favour of William IV. what had 
been only proposed for William III. The dignity of stadt- 
holder was declared hereditary in the house of Nassau- 
Orange, in the younger branch in default of the elder, and 
even in females in default of line masculine. This constitutive 
law, A. D. 1747, was passed by the states of Holland and 
West Friesland, on a motion made by the body of nobles # . 
It completed the system of encroachment which constitutes 
the very history of the stadtholdership ; and there now 
remained nothing more than a title to change. It may be 
conceived, however, with what feelings those who still 

* Abridgment of the History of Holland by M. Kerrent, t. IV. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 415 

preserved the sentiments of Barneveld and John de Witt 
viewed a resolution which suspended the sword of cap- 
tain general of the republic to the cradle of an infant girl. 
The prince who afterwards became William V. was not 
yet born. 

The stadtholder's court now assumed all the outward 
signs of royalty. The people forgot the time when those 
grand pensionaries, before whom the pride of monarchs 
was humbled, had for their sole escort but a single valet # , 
and scrupled not to encourage all the innovations of the 
chief magistrate. The stadtholder, king as in reality he 
was, saw even in his title the pledge of a popularity which 
might still be serviceable to him. It was this which in- 
duced Frederic the Great, when conferring his niece in 
marriage on William V., to say to her : " You are fortunate, 
my niece, you are going to settle in a country where you 
will meet with all the advantages attached to royalty, 
without any of its inconveniences." 

The reign of William IV. was distinguished by fresh 
attempts to govern the election of the regencies in the towns. 
" Among the means contrived by the stadtholder for^\ 
effecting this object, he fixed upon that of writing letters 
to the towns about the time of election, in which he recom- \ 
mended the persons whom he thought the most devoted to I 
his interests. The usage of these letters, thus introduced, 
after a certain number of years, came to be styled, by the 
stadtholder's party, the right of recommendation f." These 
arbitrary attempts, however, were resisted by several pro- 
vinces ; and it might have been foreseen, that if the stadt- 
holder sought to over-heap the measure of encroachment, 
there was still a point beyond which he could not go, without 
endangering the very existence of his office. 

* Sir William Temple's Remarks on the United Provinces, 
t Memoires de M. Caillard, etc. 



416 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

William IV. died in 1751. The son who succeeded him 
under the title of William V., was then only three years of 
age. His mother was first invested with the office of guar- 
dian, and at her death, the duke of Brunswick -Wolfenbutel. 
An English princess, and a German prince, were thus succes- 
sively intrusted with the administration of the republic ; 
and the young prince learned in their school to consider his 
government as essentially subject to a foreign influence. 

Nevertheless, the patriotic party gained ground, and in- 
creased in energy, as the pretensions of the stadtholder 
became more open and unreserved. It collected sufficient 
strength to expel the duke of Brunswick, who had endea- 
voured to maintain himself at the head of affairs even after 
the prince's majority, by causing him to sign the act called 
of consultation. A strong opposition was formed against 
the young stadtholder himself, who appeared inclined to 
overleap all the bounds which his predecessors had hitherto 
respected. 

The schemes of encroachment on the part of the stadt- 
holder, as we have elsewhere observed, had always found 
auxiliaries in the English. This disposition on the part of 
Great Britain was more clearly exhibited at this period, 
when more intimate bonds of union existed between the 
two cabinets. It was at London that the political conduct 
of William V. was traced ; and from London emanated the 
policy which left the marine to decay and concerned itself 
only with the land army. England, in fact, by rendering 
absolute a stadtholder who was devoted to her, could hope 
to govern the United Provinces through him ; and she well 
knew that to ruin their marine was, ultimately, to ruin 
their commerce. France, on the contrary, necessarily 
wished that the marine and commerce of Holland should 
prosper, that she might find in her a counterpoise to the 
power of Great Britain. The patriotic party, therefore, 
naturally directed their views towards France, where, more- 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 417 

over, the dawn of a political regeneration, was now begin- 
ning to appear. Such was the state of affairs. All the 
wishes of the Dutch people were turned towards France, 
and all the interests of the stadtholder leaned for support 
on the British crown*. 

We cannot wholly exculpate William from the charge of 
a criminal connivance with the English government during 
the war which terminated in 1783. He prevented, osten- 
sibly, the sailing of the Dutch fleet from the Texel, and 
from effecting its junction with the French squadron at 
Brest. Two years after he endeavoured to throw impedi- 
ments in the way of a negotiation between France and Hol- 
land, by which the states-general, following the principles 
of an enlightened policy, sought to establish a durable alli- 
ance with France. The treaty of Versailles was concluded 
in spite of his intrigues, and served to give additional 
strength to the public discontent. 

* The charge here endeavoured to be fastened upon the stadtholders of 
having concurred with the designs of the English court in a systematic 
neglect of the marine, is groundless and unjust. The navy of Holland 
continued to be most respectable till the fera of the French revolution. It 
never reckoned less than a hundred ships of war, besides galleys and smaller 
vessels, and if it was not, as formerly, powerful enough to cope with that of 
Great Britain, it was not that the number of the ships of Holland had 
diminished, but that those of the latter power had increased beyond all 
calculation. Her relative and not her actual strength had declined. As to 
the union of the house of Orange with the English throne, it is notorious that 
the growing power and ambition of France first rendered it necessary, and 
that it was cultivated by the stadtholders as the only means of securing the 
independence of their country against the designs of that power. Finally, 
if the house of Orange can be at all charged with encroaching on the 
public liberties, it must be at least acknowledged that the circumstances of 
the state afforded them but too much reason for it. Threatened by a pow-. 
erful enemy without, and disturbed by factions within, the government of 
the stadtholders was one continued straggle to give effect to their measures 
of defence by uniting the scattered and discordant elements of the consti- 
tution — not to mention that the opposite party, when in power, were not 
at all more scrupulous as to the means of maintaining themselves there, and 
that the people always returned with enthusiasm to the government of the 
stadtholders. — E. 
Vol. I. 2 E 



418 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 



The contest between the stadtholder and the nation com- 
menced. The provinces in which his rights were the most 
extended by the regulation of 1674 gave the signal. Utrecht 
began by abolishing that ordinance. This was done without 
a single act of violence, although several meetings of the 
citizens were held to promote it — another instance of that 
peculiar character of moderation which has in general dis- 
tinguished even the seditions of these thoughtful and phleg- 
matic people. The province of Guelderland followed the 
example of Utrecht. But William, relying on the support 
of the states of this province, which were devoted to him, 
endeavoured to suppress public opinion by force of arms. 
The province of Holland, upon this, ordered the provisional 
suspension of his functions of captain-general — a measure 
with which it had before threatened him. Preparations for 
a civil war now commenced on both sides : Holland with 
that part of the army of the republic which she was 
charged with maintaining: William with the regiments of 
Guelderland only, for Friesland, Groningen, Over-Yessel, 
and Zealand, had forbidden the stadtholder employing their 
forces in these internal disputes ; and a division had existed 
in the states of Utrecht ever since the last disturbances. 
The clergy and nobility sat at Amersford, and the town of 
Utrecht refused to pay the troops of the province. 

The states-general, in the mean while, preserved but 
little influence, and the interference of France, England, 
and Prussia, served to increase the confusion. Prussia had 
of late taken a decided part in the affairs of the republic. 
She now sent a minister under the title of mediator, a term 
which did not fail to give high offence to the states of Hol- 
land, inasmuch as there is no room for mediation except 
between sovereigns and equals, and the republic, alone 
sovereign, could not endure to be placed on a level with 
its first subject. 

The republic was now divided into four parties. 1 . That 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



419 



of the stadtholder ; in which were ranked the states of 
Guelderland, and the states-general ; the province of Hol- 
land, relying 1 too much on itself, not having taken the pre- 
caution to secure a majority in that assembly ; 2. The aris- 
tocratical faction, whose wishes inclined them to unite 
their strength to that of the other enemies of the stadt- 
holder, provided their order were respected, and enriched, 
moreover, with the spoils of his office ; 3. The patriots 
of the old stamp, whose design was to reform the abuses of 
the stadtholdership without abolishing the office itself ; 
4. and lastly, the popular faction, intent on subverting 
every thing, and whose inconsiderate violence had proved 
already but too favourable to the cause of the enemies of 
public liberty. 

Disorders broke out at several places ; and in this, as 
in former instances, the gold of England assisted the in- 
trigues of the stadtholder in exciting the populace against 
the patriots. They abandoned themselves, in several places, 
to every excess. The states of Holland, with the view of 
quelling these disturbances, instituted a species of dicta- 
torial commission, which sat at Woerden, and was charged 
also with the duty of providing for the defence of the 
country. 

Prussia had hitherto refrained from any immediate inter- 
ference in these unhappy disputes ; but a single circum- 
stance at once changed the nature of her relations with the 
republic. The princess of Orange, having presented her- 
self, on the 28th of July, 1777, on the frontiers of Holland, 
with the design of travelling to the Hague, there to assist 
in the restoration of peace, was arrested by the commandant 
of the post, and being respectfully conducted to Schon- 
haven, was thence obliged to return to Nimeguen ; the 
sovereign commission refusing her admission into Holland, 
on the ground that her presence would only serve to excite 
fresh irritation. 

2 E 2 



420 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 

All Europe resounded with this pretended violence, and 
the new king of Prussia, Frederic William II., demanded 
satisfaction for the insult offered to his sister. The nego- 
tiations opened on this subject, led to no result. Hol- 
land, thinking that she might rely on the support of 
France, would not submit to the haughty dictation of the 
German prince. But the French government, already 
uneasy as to the internal affairs of the kingdom, and unde- 
cided in its steps, lost sight of the great interests of foreign 
policy. It shamefully abandoned the ally whom its pro- 
mises had exposed. The patriotism of a few was left to 
contend alone with England and Prussia, the populace and 
stadtholder. They were obliged to yield. Twenty thousand 
Prussians, who only waited for a pretext, entered Holland 
under the orders of Brunswick. The stadtholder's party im- 
mediately arose on every side. A violent insurrection broke 
out at the Hague, and the stadtholder entered that place in 
triumph. His decrees completed the revolution, while the 
Prussian arms finished the conquest of the country. He 
changed the regencies, and the regencies sent new deputa- 
tions to the states. A majority in the latter assembly was 
soon secured. All the measures that had been decreed 
against him were revoked ; his dignity was restored ; and 
with all the prerogatives that he and his predecessors had 
conquered from the republic. 

France was a tranquil spectator of the scene. She nego- 
tiated with the British court on the means of perpetuating 
the peace between the two countries by each laying down 
its arms*, and declared that she harboured no resentment 
for what had passed. There no longer existed any obstacle 
to the views of the powers which protected the stadtholder. 
The states-general were easily induced to abandon an 
alliance which had proved so fatal to them, and to adopt 

* Hertzberg', torn. 11. 



OF THE NETHERLANDS. 421 

that which necessity imposed. By treaties concluded be- 
tween Great Britain and Prussia, A. D. 1788, the republic 
(if that title be still applicable to it) was placed under the 
guarantee of those two powers. Prussia, it must be 
observed, had merely performed the part in this affair 
which the policy of England assigned to her, and had only 
assisted in bringing about a result long meditated. 

Such was this revolution. The arms of France effected a 
new one some years after. Holland was invaded and 
conquered in 1795. The stadtholder was obliged to fly. 
His office was abolished ; and the Batavian republic esta- 
blished. 

William, by a treaty with France, A. D. 1802, renounced 
his title of hereditary stadtholder for an indemnity in Ger- 
many, which was taken from his son William Frederic a 
the time the confederation of the Rhine was formed. He 
died in 1806. When Napoleon assumed the crown of Char- 
lemagne, he wished also to give the Batavians a sovereign. 
The prince of his family who became king of Holland 
endeavoured to do good, and descended from his throne 
when he found that he was only permitted to be the blind 
instrument of an arm of iron*. Holland was then united 
to the French empire. 

This empire fell from its own weight. The allied sove- 
reigns had scarcely crossed the Rhine in 1813, when symp- 
toms of disaffection were manifested both in the provinces 
of.the old republic, and those which had formerly acknow- 
ledged the Austrian government. The party of the stadt- 
holder revived; and William Frederic, supported by the 
foreign monarchs in whose, ranks he had fought, appeared 
at Amsterdam, and was there on the 3d of December, pro- 
claimed sovereign prince of the United Netherlands. The 
same prince, the year following, signed a convention, by 

* Memoires et Documens, &c„ par Louis Bonaparte, 3 vol., 1S20. 



422 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, 8fC+ 

which the allied powers made a cession to him of the 
Austrian Netherlands, to be united to his former dominions, 
and to compose together with them, the kingdom of ihe 
Netherlands. 

The seventeen provinces of which the fanaticism of 
Philip II. had caused the division, were thus again united : 
thus was an ancient republic ultimately destroyed ; and a 
new power introduced among the states of Europe. 



423 

CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 
OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 

DRAWN FROM THE PUBLIC ACTS AND PRINCIPAL WORKS 
RELATING THERETO. 



Title I. Government in general. 
§ 1. Of the Sovereignty. 

The provinces of the Low Countries form a state indi- 
visible and hereditary from male to male, in the house of 
Austria*: notwithstanding each province preserves its old 
form of government, and cannot be bound by laws enacted 
by another. 

The sovereignty of each province resides in the will of 
the prince ratified by the states. 

The Low Countries have one governor-general, who exer- 
cises the authority belonging to the sovereign in his name, 
and in the same form and manner as the sovereign could 
himself execute the said authority. 

^2. Of the Government. 

In the Low Countries are three councils; the council of 
state, the privy-council, and the council of finance: all are 
subordinate to the governor- general, and are intended to 
assist him with their knowledge and experience f. 

§ 3. Of the Council of State. 
This council is composed of counsellors of the army and 

* Pragmatic of Charles V. in Wiquefort, folio. 

t See constitution established by Charles V. 1st October, 1531, and 
re-established in J 725 by Charles VI. 



424 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

the law. The grand master of the court and the commandant 
at arms shall be present whenever it be judged necessary. 

In the council of state are discussed the most important 
affairs relating to the state, and to the government of the 
country*. 

The number of counsellors is unlimited: the right of 
appointment is vested in the sovereign. 

§ 4. Of the Privy Council. 

To the privy council belong the superintendency, direc- 
tion, conduct and inspection of the whole administration 
of justice and police in the Low Countries t ; it deliberates 
on the emission of new laws and interpretation of the old: 
to it is assigned the duty of watching over and preserving 
the authority, prerogatives and supremacies of the state 
with regard to its temporal rights, and of assuring the 
due enforcement of the said rights when threatened with 
encroachments either from within or from without. 

The privy council cannot take cognizance of any cause, 
sit upon any suit or litigation, or deliver judgment thereon, 
in the usual course and order of justice : It must observe 
the same rule with regard to appeals in such causes as 
have been already brought before the courts or tribunals of 
justice, unless by a special delegation from the sovereign or 
governor-general, and in the case of a disputed jurisdic- 
tion between tribunals which have not the same superior 
judge. 

The president must report to the governor-general every 
thing of importance which is treated of in the council, to 
to be determined upon by him. This council is charged, 

* Of late this was little else than an honorary council : the affairs of its 
jurisdiction were discussed in the privy-council or in special juntas.— - 
^Memoires Eistoriques, torn. IT. chap, xvi, art. 4. 

f See the letters patent of Charles V., 1531, and 1540 ; Declaration of 
Philip IV., 1651 ; Edict of Charles VI. 1725, S>-c. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 425 

under the orders of the sovereign or hi& governor-general, 
with the principal direction of the finances. 

Ordinances concerning the imposition and collection of 
import duties belong to the council of finance : they are 
sometimes promulgated in the name of this council only, 
sometimes in the name, and under the signature of the 
governor-general . 

Title II. — General Rights and Privileges of the Provinces. 

§ 1 . Rights common to all the Provinces. 

The people cannot be burdened with taxes without the 
consent of the states of the provinces. Every one must be 
tried by his proper judge : no person can be judicially 
made to appear out of the limits of the country, especially 
at the suit of the Roman see. 

§ 2. Brabant and Limburg. 

The sovereign at his accession, and before the states of 
the provinces, promises upon oath to adhere to the joyous 
entry, sworn to by the empress Maria Theresa in 1744. 
The regulations contained in the joyous entry are common 
to the inhabitants of the two provinces. This instrument 
declares: 

" Her majesty will be to them a good, equitable and 
" loyal lady*. She will govern them neither by force, 
*K nor will, nor otherwise than by the regular course of 
" law, and before the ordinary judges. 

" She will not undertake any war on behalf or con- 
" cerning the countries of Brabant and Limburg, except 
" with the consent of the towns and country of Brabant: 
" She will not form any engagements tending to abridge 

* We give here the tenor of that act, such as it was promulgated by the 
empress. .: 



426 



CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 



" the limits, or to diminish the rights, liberties and pri- 
" vileges of the same countries. 

44 There is a particular seal which shall always remain 
44 in Brabant, and with which every thing concerning the 
44 countries of Brabant and Outre-Meuse must be sealed. 
" This seal cannot be used for other purposes. 

44 Her majesty shall compose her council of Brabant of 
44 seventeen persons, of whom fifteen shall be Braban- 
" C,ons, and qualified, by possessing either in their own 
" right, or in that of their wives, a barony by inheritance. 
" The two others, provided they understand the Flemish 
" language, may be foreigners. The despatch of all affairs 
" concerning justice and what relates thereto, in the coun- 
" tries of Brabant and Outre-Meuse, shall be vested in this 
"•council. 

" All the officers of Brabant, including those of the flat 
" country, the burgomasters and sheriffs of towns, and all 
" others who administer justice, either in her majesty's 
" name or in that of her vassals, shall take an oath to 
44 observe the joyous entry. 

" The countries of Limburg and Outre-Meuse shall for 
" ever remain united to Brabant. 

44 Those who farm the market taxes of her majesty, or 
44 have any part therein, cannot be received, while they 
44 continue to farm the said taxes, among the magistrates 
44 of the towns ; no more than those who have any part in 
" the coinage. 

44 No one apprehended in the territories of Brabant and 
44 Outre-Meuse can be led a prisoner out of the same. 

44 Her majesty cannot coin money of any description in 
44 Brabant, except with the advice and consent of the 
44 states ; whose regulations on this head shall suffer no 
" alteration. 

44 Her majesty shall have no power, except with the 
44 consent of the states, to grant pardon, so far- as to 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 427 

" permit their residence in the samo country, to those 
" who shall have incurred forfeiture of body and goods 
" for having treasonably conspired against her majesty, 
" her countries of Brabant and Outre-Men se, or to such 
" as shall have given aid to the enemies of the said 
'* countries. 

" The towns and territories which her majesty may add 
" to her country of Brabant by right of conquest, effected 
" by the arms of Brabancons, shall remain united thereto, 
" and enjoy the privileges of Brabant. 

" The liberty of the chase is acknowledged through all 
" Brabant, with the exception of such warrens as are fixed 
" upon by law. 

" The town of Antwerp, its appurtenances, and depen- 
" dencies, shall remain for ever united to Brabant, in the 
" same manner as the town of Nivelles. 

" Her majesty will not grant any privileges to nations 
" having a station or factory in her territory of Flanders, 
" which might turn to the disadvantage of her territory or 
" people of Brabant. 

" No abbey, prelacy, or dignity, shall be conferred in 
" commendam, and her majesty will use her interest to 
" obtain from the see of Rome a reduction of the first 
" fruits, provided that the prelates and monasteries charge 
" themselves with the expense necessary to effect such 
" reduction. 

" Her majesty confirms in general to the prelates, nobles, 
" towns, and to all her subjects of the countries of Bra- 
66 bant and Outre-Meuse, all the rights, franchises, privi- 
" leges, charters, customs, usages, and other rights, which 
" they possess, and which have been granted them by the 
" dukes and duchesses of Brabant, as well as those which 
" they have enjoyed and used, particularly the additions to 
" the joyous entry of duke Philip the Good, of the 20th of 
" September, 1451, and of the 18th of November, 1447, as 



428 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

" well as the additions of the Emperor Charles V. of the 
" 12th and 26th of April, 1515. 

" If her majesty cease to observe the privileges con- 
" firmed, either wholly or in part, she agrees that in this 
" case her subjects shall cease to discharge their duty 
" towards her until reparation has been made for the 
" violation of the said privileges. The officers appointed 
" contrary to the enactments of the joyous entry shall be 
" immediately dismissed. " 

The sovereign promises to secure her subjects against all 
undue exercise of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction*. The 
spiritual courts for Brabant shall be established in the 
province f. 

Claimants in mortmain cannot acquire immoveable pro- 
perty in the territories of Brabant and Limburg, without 
the consent of the sovereign and lawyers of the chief 
towns under which the property is situated. 

The privileges granted by the golden bull of Brabant % 
are guaranteed. Consequently all princes, ecclesiastical 
or secular, judges and tribunals of the empire, are pro- 
hibited from exercising any jurisdiction over the inhabit- 
ants of the duchies of Brabant, Limburg and their depen- 
dencies, from citing, summoning, or arresting them, in 
person or goods, in any case whatever, criminal, real or 
personal. 

The execution of the bull is committed to the council of 

Brabant §. 

§ 3. Guelderland. 

A chancery for the administration of justice is established 
in the province, and no person can be subjected to a foreign 

* Addition by Philip the Good, 1451. 

f Second addition of Charles V., 26th April, 1515. 

% Granted in 1349 to John III., duke of Brabant, by Charles IV., 
confirmed by the Emperor Sigismund in 1424, and by Maximilian in 
1512, S>-c. 

§ Confirmation by the Emperor Charles V., 3d July, 1530. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 429 

jurisdiction *. The privilege de non evacando granted the 
inhabitants of Guelderland with regard to the empire, is 
confirmed. 

The treaty of Venloo, containing the privileges of the 
province, is confirmed upon oath by every sovereign at the 
time of his inauguration. 

§ 4. Flanders. 

Subjects natives of provinces in which Flemmings are ex- 
cluded from employments, cannot in return be admitted to 
any employment in the territory and county of Flanders. 
Lieutenants or governors, and knights of the golden fleece, 
are excepted from this restriction f. 

The part of Flanders ceded to France by the treaties of 
Aix-la-Chapeile, and Nimeguen, and ceded back again to 
the house of Austria, continues on the same footing, with 
respect to subsidies, as under the French government. The 
annual and ordinary subsidies are there imposed by the 
sole authority of H. M. : extraordinary subsidies require the 
consent of the states. 

§ 5. Hainault. 

A foreigner cannot hold a public employment in Hainault 
unless he has resided there ten years, and is a native of a 
province in which the subjects of Hainault are reciprocally 
admitted to public offices. 

^ 6. Namur. 

Subjects born in provinces in which the inhabitants of 
Namur are not permitted to hold offices and public employ- 
ments, are excluded from every employment in Namur. An 

* Art. 5. and following of the treaty of Venloo. The privileges of this 
province are contained in that treaty, by which Guelderland acknowledged 
the government of Charles V. Sept. 12, 1543. 

t Act granted by Charles V. May 7, 1555.. 



430 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

exception, however, is made in favour of governors and 
knights of the golden fleece. 

Title III. — Of the States of the Provinces, 

§ 1 . States of the Provinces in general. 

The power of the states is limited to the right of con- 
senting to taxes. They exercise an economical administra- 
tion without jurisdiction, without any attribute of public 
authority. 

They are the representatives of the body of the subjects ; 
they cannot meet, in any case, without an express convoca- 
tion on the part of the sovereign. 

The states of every province appoint a certain number of 
deputies, to take cognizance of public affairs in the inter- 
val between the assemblies of the states. 

Taxes are levied in the name, and by authority of the 
states. 

§ 2. Of the States of Brabant, 

The states of Brabant are composed of prelates, nobles, 
and deputies of towns. The members of the states, who 
compose the first order are: 1. the archbishop of Malines 
in his quality of abbot of Afflighem ; 2. the bishop of Ant^ 
werp as abbot of Saint-Bernard ; 3. The abbots of Vlier- 
beck, Villers, Saint Bernard, Saint Michael, Grimberghen, 
Pare, Heylissem, Everboden, Tongerloo, Diligem, Saint 
Gertrude. 

A nobleman, to gain admission to the states of Brabant, 
must have at least the title of baron, derived from a lord- 
ship situated in the province ; a revenue of not less than 
four thousand florins for a baron, ten thousand for a count 
or marquis, and twenty thousand for any more elevated 
title, Nobles mmt prove, moreover, that they are noble by 
four descents, and of a nobility ancient in name and arms, 
reputed and received for such in the colleges and- noble 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 431 

chapters, without being able to derive any advantage from 
the circumstance of a member of their family having been 
formerly received in the ranks of the nobility. 

The nobles are ranked according to the title of the lord- 
ship which gives them a right of admission to the states, 
so that a duke who enters therein in virtue of a barony 
takes his seat among the barons. 

Rank between, such as have the same title is regulated 
according to the date of the oath taken in the assembly of 
the states. 

For forming the third estate, the right of sitting in the 
states is attached exclusively to the four chief-towns, Lou- 
vain, Brussels, Antwerp, and Bois-le-duc*. 

The choice of deputies is vested in the magistrates ; and 
each of the said chief-towns can send to the general as- 
sembly of the states as many deputies as it thinks proper. 

The prelates and nobles, of their own authority, have a 
right to adopt resolutions on the affairs which are treated 
of in the assembly of the states ; but the deputies of the 
towns must render an account thereof to their principals, 
and receive their orders. 

No resolution can be adopted except with the common 
consent of the three orders *h 

An extraordinary assembly of the states may be convoked 
whenever the service of the sovereign, or the wants of the 
people require it. 

The deputation of the states sits at Brussels : their secre- 
tary (greffier) is present, as well in the general assemblies, 
as in those of the deputations ; he proposes affairs for dis- 



* This right ceased with regard to the last, when in lG2d, if fell under 
the government of Holland. 

t This usage, in other respects immemorial, does not appear to be 
founded in right ; but the prelates and nobles in adopting a resolution, 
especially when it related to aids and subsidies, always took care to annex 
this clause, on condition that the.third estate agrees, and not otherwise. 



432 CONSTITUTIVE LA.WS 

cussion, and exercises the functions of actuary, but has 
only a consultative voice. 

The taxes are levied by the states, and lodged in the 
hands of their receivers. 

§ 3. Of the States of Limburg. 

The province of Limburg comprehends the duchy of that 
name ; the country of Fauquemont, Doelem, and Rolduc, 
that is, the three countries of Outre-Meuse. 

These four districts have each a separate body of states, 
all of which may be convoked together. Propositions also 
are laid before the whole together as if they composed but a 
single assembly : notwithstanding, each takes its resolutions 
separately. 

The states of Limburg are composed of ecclesiastics, 
nobles, and deputies from the banks or villages : no eccle- 
siastical members sit in the states of Fauquemont. The 
members who represent the clergy are the abbots of 
Rolduc and Voldien, and one deputy from the chapter of 
Notre-Dame of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

The nobles must be descended of ancient nobility, and 
must possess, in the district where they desire to be ad- 
mitted, a property conferring the rank of noble, with high, 
mean, and low justice. 

The states have nine ordinary deputies in the three 
orders for the duchy : there is one secretary for the eccle- 
siastics and nobles, and a separate one for the third estate : 
the three districts of Outre-Meuse have a single secretary. 

In the duchy, the ecclesiastics and nobles composing the 
states have a receiver-general chosen by them: the third 
estate has none. Each community pays its quota directly 
to the receiver-general of the subsidies established by his 
majesty in that province. There is besides a receiver, on 
the part of the states, for each of the three districts of Fau- 
quemont, Doelem, and Rolduc. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 






§ 4. Of the States of Luxemburg 

These states are composed of ecclesiastics, nobles, and 
deputies for the towns, forming the third estate. The eccle- 
siastics are the abbot of Saint Maximin, those of Minister, 
Echternach, Orval, with the prior of the monastery des 
Ecoliers. The nobles must prove their nobility by two de- 
scents on the paternal side, and as many on the maternal. 
No person can be received in the states before the age of 
twenty-five. The father and son cannot be at the same time 
members of the states, unless the son be married, has a dis- 
tinct family, and is possessed of an estate with a right of 
high justice. Every candidate must besides make it appear 
that he possesses an estate with a right of high justice in 
the province of Luxemburg, and under the government of 
His Majesty. 

He whose father, grand-father, great-grand-father, and 
great-great-grand-father, in masculine legitimate line, have 
been noble and held for such, at least during the last hundred 
years, without having committed any act derogatory to their 
dignity, is to be admitted to the estate of noble, provided 
he proves that among the said four noble ancestors there 
have been two noble alliances : in which case, and in con- 
sideration of the ancient nobility of the province candidates 
of this description are dispensed from the obligation of 
showing proof of nobility by four descents. 

The third estate of this province is composed of a deputy 
from each of the fifteen following towns : Luxemburg, 
Arlon, Bidburgh, Echternach, Dickrich, Grevenmacher, and 
Remich, of the German quarter ; and Durbuy, Bastogne, 
Chiny, Hofalize, Marche, Neufchatel, La Roche, and 
Virton, of the Walloon quarter. 

The three orders composing the states of Luxemburg 
adopt their resolutions, each according to the plurality of 

* The county of Chiny has been incorporated in the duchy since 1334. 
Vol. I. 2 F 



434 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

votes : as for the resolutions of the body of the states, in the 
matter of aids and subsidies, if two out of the three orders 
agree to the same sum, this majority determines the resolu* 
tion ; but when the three orders severally agree to a dif- 
ferent sum, these three sums are added together, and a third 
of the whole is taken for the general vote *. 

-The marshal of the province presides over the states ; and 
in his absence, the nobleman who ranks as senior according 
to the date of his oath, discharges the functions of president. 

When the general assembly of the states is not in session 
the direction of daily affairs is vested in nine deputies, 
equally chosen from the three orders. 

Each community collects, in its own district, the taxes 
granted for subsidies. 

§5. Of the States of Guelclerland. 

These states are composed of nobles, and of deputies for 
the town of Ruremond. The nobles must prove their no- 
bility by eight descents, four on the paternal side, and as 
many on the maternal ; they must be in possession also of 
an estate, acknowledged to confer the rank of noble by the 
deputies for the town of Ruremond. 

The town of Ruremond is represented in the states by two 
burgomasters, of whom one is the burgomaster for the 
time ^being, and the other the former burgomaster ; they 
are authorized to vote in the assembly of states according 
to their own opinion. 

The resolutions of the assembly are adopted by a majority 

of votes : the counsellor-pensioner is chosen by the states 

in the same manner. This officer has only a consultative 

voice. 

§ 6. Of the States of Flanders. 

The states of Flanders are composed of deputies for the 
clergy and towns. Nobles have no admission therein 

* This was called tertiating. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 435 

The states are composed of seventeen deciding votes — 
one for the clergy, and sixteen for as many towns, castle- 
wards, or trades ; namely, the towns of Ghent, Bruges, 
Courtrai, Oudenargue, Ninove, and Termonde, the castle- 
wards, districts or trades of the franc-de-Bruges, old town 
of Ghent, Courtrai, Oudenarde, Alost, Termonde, Born- 
hem, Waes, Assenede, and Bouchante # . 

The ordinary deputies, as well of the clergy, as of the 
towns, castlewards, and trades, are renewed every three 
years. 

Each of the sixteen colleges ought to enjoy, in the as- 
sembly of its province, an influence proportioned to the 
interest which it has at stake f. To this effect, 

1. There are eight principal votes in the province : the 
clergy of Ghent have one vote, those of Bruges one, the 
towns collectively, three votes, and the castlewards three. 

2. There are eight deputies to the assembly ; one for 
the clergy of Ghent, one for the clergy of Bruges, three for 
the towns collectively, and three for the castlewards. In 
case the number of votes are equal, the deputy who has 
the call has the casting vote. 

3. One deputy, at least, for the castlewards and towns, 
beginning with the former, goes out every year ; with the 
exception of those years in which the deputies for the 
clergy are changed, when no such alteration takes place. 

§ 7. Of the States of Hainault. 

These states are composed of three orders — the clergy* 
nobility, and third estate. 

The first consists of seventeen members ; namely, six 
abbots, four deputies, and seven rural deans. The six 
abbots are those of Saint Gheslain, Saint Denis, Cambron, 

* Edict dated Brussels, July 5, 1754 
t Edict of the 13th October, 1775. 

2 F 2 



436 



CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 



Bonne Esperance, Saint Feuillien, and Notre Dame du Val : 
the four chapters are those of Soignies, Leuze, Binch, and 
Chimay, of which each sends a deputy. The seven rural 
deans sit in the assembly as the representatives of the infe- 
rior clergy of their district. 

To have a seat in the chamber of nobles, it is necessary 
to be sprung from a father, grand-father, great-grand- 
father, and great-great-grand-father, all nobles in direct 
masculine legitimate line, and held for such during the last 
hundred years at least : and it is necessary, besides, that the 
title to this nobility should rest on deeds, actions, or em- 
ployments in the service of the sovereign, and that in 
course of four generations alliances have been formed at 
least twice with noble women, whose own brothers were 
sufficiently qualified by birth to be received into the cham- 
ber of nobles." Those whose nobility is only derived from 
letters patent obtained by purchase, must prove a nobility 
of six generations instead of four. Nobles must prove, 
moreover, that they are proprietors of a fief containing 
twenty-five bonniers in Hainhault, subject to the govern- 
ment of His Majesty, with the right of high justice, or that 
they are lords of a parish village. 

The third estate is composed of the magistrate, assessors, 
and councils of the town of Mons, in number forty-two 
persons, and of two deputies for each of the thirteen towns 
of the province ; amounting in all to sixty-eight persons. 

The deputation of the states of Hainhault is composed of 
two deputies for the clergy, two for the nobility, and six for 
the third estate. 

One of the deputies for the clergy must necessarily be 
chosen among the abbots, the other from the four deputies, 
for chapters. These deputies are chosen by the entire 
chamber of the clergy, by a plurality of votes, and for three 
years : they cannot be re-elected until after an interval of 
another three years, 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 437 

The same regulations hold with regard to the deputies of 

the nobility. 

The deputation of the third estate is composed of the two 
first sheriffs, of the magistrate of Mons, of two deputies 
chosen at each renewal of the magistrate, in the body 
forming the town council, by the magistrate and members 
of the said council, and by a majority of votes : the sixth 
deputy is registrar of the chief place, and is joined to the 
deputation as representative of the towns of the province. 
The states have a receiver general chosen by the three 
orders, and by a majority of votes, for six years: he can- 
not be again elected until after an interval of another six 

years. 

§ 8. Of the States of Namur. 

The states of Namur are composed of clergy, nobility 
and the third estate. 

The clergy consist in the bishop of Namur, the abbots of 
Walfort, Grand-Pres, Moulins, Jardinet, Boneffe, Floreffe, 
and Geronsart, and in the provosts of the chapters of Val- 
court and Sclayens. 

The nobles must show their title to nobility by six de- 
scents on the paternal side, including the person first en- 
nobled : they must prove that they possess a lordship 
with the right of high justice, and an estate containing 
at least as much land as four ploughs can cultivate in a 
year ; and that they are not originally of a province in which 
natives of Namur are excluded from the privileges of no- 
bility. Nobles in the service of a foreign prince, or such 
as are not born subjects of His Majesty, cannot be admitted 
unless they obtain a dispensation from the government. 
The captain and bailiff of the chateau Samson, the pro- 
vost of Poilvache, the castellain and bailiff of Montaine, the 
mayor of Feix, the bailiffs of Yieuville, Fleurus, Wasseige, 
and Bouvigne, are equally members of the states, and 
have a vote among the nobles ; as well as a special 



438 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

deputy from each of the towns of Fleurus, Valcourt, and 
Bouvigne. 

The third estate is composed of the magistrates of the 
town of Namur, consisting of a mayor, seven sheriffs (of 
whom two are nobles admissible to the states, two gradu- 
ates in law, and three notable burgesses), a burgomaster, 
who bears also the title of first elect, a secretary and mayor- 
lieutenant ; to whom must also be added a second elect, a 
secretary elect, four wardens of the city, and the mayor of 
the bean trade. 

Each order of the states has two deputies who, at 
the instance of the counsellor pensionary, and conjointly 
with the governor of the province or his lieutenant, carry 
into execution the resolutions passed by the general assem- 
blies, and are charged with the conduct of affairs relating 
to the administration. 

The deputies of the clergy and nobility are chosen from 
among the members of their respective orders by a plurality 
of votes : their functions continue six years : two abbots of 
the order of Citeaux cannot be chosen together to discharge 
the functions of deputies. 

The third estate has no part in the assemblies, except 
when subjects of administration common to the three orders 
are discussed: it has no fixed deputies. 

When an assembly of deputies of the three orders is 
convoked, the mayor of the city chooses and commissions 
two sheriffs to appear in the assembly : the sheriffs hear 
the proposition brought forward, and report it to the ma- 
gistrates, who, having deliberated, commission the same 
deputies to return to the assembly of the three orders and 
make known their vote. 

The counsellor pensionary is also secretary to the three 
orders : it is his business to perform every thing connected 
with the order and service of the states. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 439 

§ 9. Of the States of the Tournesis. 

The lordship of Tournay and the Tournesis is governed 
by two bodies ; the magistrates who constitute the Consaux 
and states' of the town, for every thing which relates to 
the town, its ancient and modern precincts; and for the 
Tournesis, the ecclesiastics and bailiffs of the lords high 
justiciaries who compose the states thereof. 

The states of Tournay have the same attributes and pri- 
vileges as other states. The magistrates have not alone 
the right of giving their consent to the levying of aids and 
subsidies, but must ask also that of the banners or com- 
panies of tradesmen. 

A counsellor pensionary, a secretary, and treasurer, ar 
attached to the states. The counsellor pensionary has a 
consultative voice. 

Article I. — Of the Provinces which have no States, 
§10. Province of M alines. 

The demand for aids and subsidies on the province of 
Malines, is made in the assembly of the magistrates of 
Malines, to whom the person authorized to make the 
requisition in the name of the sovereign, communicates 
the instructions which he has received from him. The 
magistrates transmit this instrument to those of their 
jurisdiction, and charge them to communicate their deter- 
mination. 

In every district, the senior of the heads of communes 
convokes a meeting of the principal adhtritcs and wardens. 
One of the pensionaries of the town reads the instructions 
of the sovereign. The resolution is immediately taken 
according to the majority of votes. The consent of the 
town of Malines is expressed by the great council, com- 
posed of the magistracy and the deans of seventeen chief 
trades. 



440 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

Art. II. — Free Lands. 

The free lands bear a portion of impost, but do not con- 
tribute with any province. 

The taxes are fixed by the government, which aug- 
ments them in a certain proportion whenever the sovereign 
requires extraordinary subsidies from the states of the 
provinces. 

The free lands pay their taxes to a special receiver 
appointed by His Majesty. 

Title IV. — Administration of the Laws. 
% 1. Promulgation of Laws for all the Provinces. 

The right of making laws belongs to the sovereign alone, 
or to the person who represents him. Affairs relating to 
legislation are transacted in the privy council. 

The higher tribunals of justice may be consulted, as well 
as the states of the provinces. 

When the privy council has resolved on the promulga- 
tion of a law, the result of such resolution is laid before the 
governor-general, who decides thereon either of himself, 
or after he has taken the orders of His Majesty. 

All ordinances which are properly laws, that is, decrees 
relating to justice or police, importing the reformation of 
abuses, distinctions of punishment, with such other regula- 
tions as affect the general circumstances of the people, must 
be published in the name of the sovereign, and under his 
great seal. 

§ 2. Form observed in the promulgation of particular Lavjs 
for Brabant and Limburg. 

Laws "and ordinances concerning Brabant must be sealed 
with the seal of the province, and signed by a secretary who 
is a native of Brabant*. 

* Art. 4, 5, of the joyous entry* 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 441 

All the affairs of Brabant which relate to justice or sta- 
tutes, placita, edicts, ordinances, fyc, are transacted by 
advice of the council of Brabant. 

When the government wishes to pass a law which con- 
cerns the province, it sends an order to the council to cause 
it to be promulgated: the council deliberates on the law, 
and thereupon either promulgates it, or exposes by a 
representation to the government, the difficulties and impe- 
diments which lie in the way thereof. 

§ 3. On the administration of Justice in general. 

The edicts of the sovereign, and municipal customs, con- 
stitute the Belgic law : where edicts and customs fail, the 
Roman law is followed. 

The magisterial bodies in most of the towns and villages 
of the Low Countries, are composed of several persons, who 
are the judges of the district. 

Each province and town follows its peculiar forms in the 
administration of justice, as well civil as criminal. When 
the judge neglects any of the said forms, the accused has a 
right to lay his complaint before the superior judge, and 
to pray the annulling and evocation of the procedure ; which 
differs from an appeal. 

§ 4. Of the great Council. 

The great council is concerned only with the administra- 
tion of justice : it is the first tribunal of the Low Coun- 
tries. Its attributes and jurisdiction are determined by 
particular laws. 

It tries appeals from the sentences of the provincial 
councils of Flanders, Luxemburg, and Namur, as well as 
from those rendered by the magistrates of Malines ; without 
any right, however, in such cases of appeals to any juris- 
diction in the said provinces of Flanders, Luxemburg, 
and Namur. 



442 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

University of Louvain, 

The university enjoys certain privileges granted by the 
sovereigns of the Low Countries : the conservator of privi- 
leges* is charged with upholding and defending them: he 
is judge in several cases relative to the maintenance and 
due observance of privileges. 

The university, as a body, has the right of presentation 
to a great number of benefices, with and without the care 
of souls, not only throughout the Low Countries, but also 
in the territory of Liege: notwithstanding, in the last 
mentioned country, the right of nomination only extends 
to benefices which are not in the gift of the Holy See. 

A royal commissioner is charged with the execution and 
maintenance of the edicts, ordinances, and decrees, suc- 
cessively passed for the direction, discipline, and police, 
of the university. 

All His Majesty's subjects, of whatever state or condition 
they may be, are prohibited from following any course of 
philosophy, public or private, elsewhere than in the uni- 
versity of Louvain, or in other universities subject to his 
government, without the special and written permission of 
the government. 

No person can be admitted to the dignities, offices or 
benefices, ecclesiastical or civil, which require the degree 
of licentiate, no more than to the profecsion of advo- 
cate, if he has not taken this degree in the university of 
Louvain. 

No person, unless by express permission from the sove- 
reign, can practise physic in the Low Countries, if he has 
not taken his degrees at Louvain, and if he has not been 
examined and approved by the doctors of that university, 
or by the physicians attached to the person of the sove- 
reign. 

* One of the principal officers of the university. 



OP THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 443 

ACT OF UNION 
OF THE BELGIC PROVINCES*. 



The states of Flanders, long united by strict ties of 
friendship and interest with the states of Brabant, ani- 
mated, moreover, with a uniform wish for the preservation 
of their rights, usages, privileges, and the worship of their 
fathers, alike injured .in these sacred rights for a number of 
years past, by an arbitrary and despotic government, and 
being left no other resource than that of shaking off the 
said yoke, and recovering their liberty and independence 
by arms, are of opinion that the sole means of accomplish- 
ing this end, and of establishing their freedom on a firm 
and durable basis, is to unite their fate to that of the 
province of Brabant, and to conclude together a treaty of 
union offensive and defensive in every respect, on the 
express condition of never entering into any conference or 
treaty whatever with their late sovereign, except with the 
common consent ; and willing to give the states of Brabant 
all possible proofs of a sincere friendship, and to evince 
unequivocally their earnest desire to establish an indis- 
soluble union with them, the said states of Flanders, in 
pursuance of the proposition which has been made to them 
by M. the Canon Yan-Eupen, by authority of the states of 
Brabant, do agree that this union be changed into a 
common sovereignty of the two states, in such manner that 
the power and exercise of this sovereignty be vested in a 
congress composed of deputies appointed by both parties, 
according to articles of organization hereafter to be agreed 

* For an account of the circumstances which led to this union, 
see page 397. 



444 



CONSTITUTIVE LA.WS 



upon, and in accordance with the principles of strict 
justice, and the promotion of the general good ; save that 
the intent and meaning of the contracting parties is under- 
stood to be, that the power of this sovereign assembly be 
limited to objects of a common defence, to the power 
of making peace and war, to the levying and support of 
a common national militia, to the establishing and keep- 
ing up the necessary fortifications for the defence of the 
country, to the contracting alliances with foreign powers ; 
in fine, to the doing every thing which concerns the com- 
mon interest of the two states, and of such as may hereafter 
think proper to join them. The states of Flanders dare 
flatter themselves that the states of Brabant will find in 
this declaration a pledge of the loyal sentiments which 
actuate them, and of their zeal for the common cause ; 
entertaining no doubt but that the states of Brabant will 
on their part reply in the same spirit of frankness and 
sincerity. 

Decreed in our meeting of the 30th November, 1789. 



ADHESION 

OF THE STATES OF BRABANT TO THE ACT OF UNION 



The state of Brabant, having deliberated upon the fore- 
going act, have resolved to approve and ratify, so far as 
necessity shall require, all the stipulations contained in the 
said act, with the solemn promise of conforming thereto, 
and of delivering a similar act to the states of Flanders. 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 445 



ORDINANCE 

OP THE THREE ESTATES REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE AND 
DUCHY OF BRABANT. 



To all those to whom these presents shall come : greet- 
ing : Be it known, that by unanimous consent, expressed 
on the 26th and 27th of the month of December last, as 
well as on the 29th and 30th of the same month, we have 
decreed the articles and formulae of oaths relating to 
the same, which were taken into consideration at the in- 
stance of the sovereign council of this duchy, and are con- 
tained in the act hereto annexed under the counterseal of 
the said duchy; and willing to give to the said articles and 
formulas of oaths relating to them, all the strength and 
efficiency which a compact so essential to the maintenance 
of that strict union on which the welfare and permanent 
tranquillity of the Brabant people in general depend, de- 
mands we have thought fit, with the advice and decision of 
the said council, to decree and ordain, as we do decree and 
ordain by these presents, that the articles above mentioned, 
together with the formulae of oaths relating to the same, be 
inviolably kept and punctually executed, all contravention 
to the said articles and formulae, whether directly or 
indirectly, in any manner whatever, being expressly for- 
bidden. 

We therefore command all judges, officers, and inha- 
bitants of this country, and the territories thereon de- 
pendent, whom the same shall concern, strictly to conduct 
themselves according to the tenor of these presents. In 
witness whereof we have hereunto affixed the seal of the 
said duchy. 



446 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

Given at Brussels, this 7th day of the month of January, 
in the year of grace 1790. 

The three estates representing the people of the duchy of 
Brabant, have decreed on the 2Uh and 21th, as well as on 
the 2Vth and 30th of December, 1789, the following articles, 
the same having been taken into consideration at the instance 
of the sovereign council of the said duchy. 

1. That the sovereignty exercised by the late duke shall 
be for the future exercised by the three estates of Brabant. 

2. That in all other respects, the constitution of this 
province shall remain unchanged. 

3. And in particular, that the council of Brabant shall 
preserve all its supremacies, rights and prerogatives ; 

4. That for the future the magistrates, as well as the 
other members of the third estate for the three chief towns, 
shall be appointed without the influence of the two first 
orders, agreeable to arrangements which shall be forthwith 
agreed upon by the three estates ; 

5. That all the members of the three estates, the coun- 
sellors, and all such as hold any offices in Brabant, shall 
take an oath to observe the constitution on the footing above 
laid down; 

6. That the three estates of Brabant, before taking an 
oath to the people, shall, in the presence of, and before the 
archbishop of Malines, or in his default, before the first in 
ecclesiastical dignity, not being a member of the said states, 
take the oaths which the former dukes were at all times 
accustomed to take to the churches of Brabant, and shall 
make profession and belief of the Roman catholic apostolic 
religion according to the formula of his holiness Pope 
Pius IV. ; and the said states of Brabant, together with 
the states of the other provinces, shall require and take 
special care that all such persons as are admitted to the 
states, as well as all those who now hold, or may here- 
after hold, any office in Brabant, do and shall make con- 
fession and belief according to the said formula. 



OE THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 447 

In pursuance of the above, on the 31st December, 1789, 
at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, the said three estates of 
Brabant assembled in the great hall of the town-house (a 
crucifix and the Holy Gospels being placed in the middle of 
the said hall) in the following order : 

Of the first estate, his eminence the cardinal archbishop 
of Malines ; his grace the bishop of Antwerp ; and the very 
reverend the prelates of Ylierbeck, Villiers, Saint Bernard, 
GrimbergUe, Parck, Heylissem, and Tongerloo. 

Of the second estate, the prince de Grimbergue; the 
marquis de Wemmel ; the marquis de Traizegnies, as 
marquis d'lttre ; the count de Lanoy, as count de Li- 
berchies ; the count d'Argenteau, as count de Dongel- 
berge, 8fc. 

And of the third estate, of the three chief towns, the un- 
dermentioned deputies. (Here follow the names.) 

The ceremony was opened by a speech; which being 
finished, the aforesaid members of the states, in the presence 
of a great concourse of people, made altogether the pro- 
fession of faith according to the formula required. 

The three estates then took the following oath to the 
churches of Brabant, before his eminence the cardinal arch- 
bishop of Malines. 

"We the prelates, nobles, and deputies for the chief 
towns, forming the three estates, and in this character 
representing the people of Brabant, swear and promise 
before our Lord, on the Holy Evangelists, to be always 
faithful to the churches of the duchy of Brabant, and to 
observe, and cause to be observed, the rights, privileges, 
statutes, usages, proprieties, and immunities of the said 
churches, as the former dukes of Brabant have heretofore 
done. So help us God and all the saints." 

And before the very reverend lord, the dean and deputy 
of the chapter of Saint Guclule, the following oath to the 
churches : 



448 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

" We the prelates, nobles, and deputies of the chief 
towns, forming the three estates, and in this character 
representing the people of Brabant, swear and promise 
before our Lord, on the Holy Evangelists, to be always 
faithful to the church of Saint Gudule, and to the other 
churches of the district and dependency of this town of 
Brussels ; and to observe and cause to be observed. ..." fyc. 

This done, the first estate, before the other two estates, 
took the oath of faith and homage to the three estates 
representing the people of Brabant, in the terms following : 

" We the prelates, representing the first estate of 
the territory and duchy of Brabant; promise, assure and 
swear before the two other estates of the same province, 
faith and homage to the three estates representing the 
people of Brabant, and, furthermore, that we will faith- 
fully observe, maintain and cause to be faithfully observed 
and maintained, the constitution in all its points, on the 
footing laid down in the joyous entry, and in the foregoing 
resolutions. So may God 3 " fyc. 

Next, the second estate took the same oath before the two 
other estates, and the third in like manner to the two first. 

Every thing which precedes was done in the presence of 
M. M. the sovereign council of the duchy of Brabant, who 
thereupon, as a body, and before the three estates represent- 
ing the people of the said duchy, took the following oath : 

" We promise, assure, and swear faith and homage to 
the three estates of Brabant representing the people of the 
same province; and furthermore, that we will faithfully 
observe and maintain, and cause to be faithfully observed 
and maintained, the constitution in all its points, on the 
footing laid down in the joyous entry, and in the foregoing 
resolutions. So may God," 8?c. 

(There were present at this solemnity the agent plenipo- 
tentiary of the people of Brabant, and the deputies of the 
states of Flanders.) 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 449 



TREATY OF UNION, 

AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOVEREIGN CONGRESS OF THE 
UNITED BELGIC STATES. 

After the death of the empress dowager and queen, Maria 
Theresa of Austria, the people who now form the United 
States of the Netherlands acknowledged for their sovereign 
Joseph II., the eldest son of the empress, and they sub- 
mitted to his government, but under such express reserves 
and stipulations as the constitution of these provinces had 
of old laid down. These stipulations and reserves, con- 
tained in the inaugural compact, were more ancient than 
the family which governed the country, and born, if we 
may use the expression, with the nation itself: they were 
accordingly solemnly agreed upon and sworn to, and no- 
thing was wanting to give effect to the treaty which the 
people, according to custom, made with the prince before 
they acknowledged him as their sovereign. The entire 
preservation of the ancient catholic, apostolic, and Roman 
religion ; the maintenance of the constitution, of the liber- 
ties, franchises, customs, and usages, such as they were 
contained in the charters, and confirmed by possession from 
time immemorial, and particularly in an instrument called 
in Brabant the joyous entry — all this was usual, and 
promised on the faith of an oath. The inhabitants had all 
these points so much the more at heart, as they had now 
been long accustomed to regard them as essentially forming 
their constitution, and this constitution as the bulwark of 
their liberties, and the safeguard of their happiness. How- 
ever, in spite of the positive oath of the sovereign, relative 
to the observance of the inaugural compact; in spite of the 
representations, so often repeated, of all orders of the state, 
regarding the numberless violations of this compact, the 
Vol. I. 2 G 



450 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

sovereign for several years pursued a line of conduct which 
tended to nothing less than to change every thing, to inno- 
vate incessantly, and to deprive the inhabitants of a consti- 
tution which was dear to them, and of which, without 
injustice, they could not be despoiled. We have seen suc- 
cessively appear a multitude of edicts which assailed religion 
in the various points of its morality and celebration, in 
what regarded its tenets and its ministers. The tribunals 
of the nation were overthrown ; the laws arbitrarily changed 
or infringed upOn; the property, the personal liberty of the 
Belgians, of which they have always shown themselves so 
jealous, were no longer safe from unconstitutional enter- 
prises. The laws disappeared before the sword of military 
oppression — the ancient usages were every where altered or 
abolished ; the old order of things was superseded by a 
new, or replaced by the arbitrary and precarious will of the 
prince, or of those persons who governed in his name, and 
acted under his authority. Such was the extent of our 
wrongs : they were become incurable. At length the go- 
vernment, not content with turning a deaf ear to all remon- 
strances, by a new and decisive stroke of authority, closed 
the door to remonstrance itself, by annulling the joyous 
entry, the old privileges and fundamental laws of the pro- 
vinces, by abolishing, with the constitution, the colleges of 
deputies, which had hitherto been the usual organ of the 
representations and representatives of the people. In fine, 
the compact, which ceased to bind from the moment that it 
ceased to be reciprocal, was formally broken on the part of 
the sovereign : and what after this remained to the people, 
except the natural and imprescriptible right which the 
compact itself allowed them, of opposing violence by force, 
and of resuming an authority which had been intrusted to 
another only for the common happiness, and with so many 
precautions, and under such express reserves and stipula- 
tions ! This, in fact, is what has been done ; and it is in 



OP THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 451 

conformity with these principles that the different provinces 
have declared themselves free and independent. Heaven 
has manifestly favoured an undertaking formed under its 
own auspices. Europe and humanity have applauded the 
success with which it has been attended. But it is not 
enough to have gained advantages — to render them of per- 
manent utility we must think of consolidating them. For 
these causes, the Belgic states, having rivetted anew the 
ancient ties of union and lasting friendship, have agreed 
upon the points and articles following: 

Art. 1. All the said provinces unite, and join themselves 
together, under the denomination of the United Belgic 
States. 

2. These provinces put in common, unite, and concen- 
trate the sovereign power, which is nevertheless limited 
and confined to the following objects ; to that of a common 
defence ; to the power of making peace and war, and con- 
sequently, to that of raising and keeping on foot a national 
army, as well as to the ordering, constructing, and keeping 
in repair, the necessary fortifications ; to the contracting 
alliances, as well offensive as defensive, with foreign 
powers ; to the appointing, sending, and receiving resi- 
dents, ambassadors, and other diplomatic agents — the 
whole in virtue of the authority thus concentrated, and 
without any recourse to the respective provinces. The in- 
fluence which each province is to enjoy by its deputies, in 
discussions relative to the articles contained in the present 
treaty, is agreed upon. 

3. To exercise this sovereign power, they create and 
establish a congress of deputies from each province, under 
the denomination of the Sove? t eign Congress of the United 
Belgic States. 

4. The provinces above mentioned, professing, and wish- 
ing for ever to profess the catholic, apostolic, and Roman 
religion, and wishing to preserve inviolate the unity of the 

2G2 



452 



CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 



church, the sovereign congress shall observe and keep up 
the relations heretofore maintained with the Holy See, as 
well in the appointment and presentation of the subjects of 
the said provinces to archbishopricks and bishopricks, ac- 
cording to a mode which the provinces shall hereafter agree, 
upon among themselves, as on every other occasion ; con- 
formably to the principles of the catholic, apostolic, and 
Roman religion, to the concordates and liberties of the 
Belgic church. 

5. The congress shall alone have power to issue money 
under the coinage of the United Belgic States, to fix the 
title and value of the same. 

6. The provinces of the Union shall contribute to the ex- 
pense necessary to the exercise of the sovereign powers 
assigned to the congress, according to the proportion ob- 
served under the late sovereign. 

7. Each province retains and reserves to itself all the 
other rights of sovereignty, its legislation, liberty, and inde- 
pendence — in fine, all the powers, jurisdictions, and rights, 
whatever, which are not expressly made common, and dele- 
gated to the sovereign congress. 

8. It is moreover agreed and irrevocably determined 
upon ; that with regard to any difficulties which might 
arise, whether on account of the general contribution, or on 
any subject of discussion whatever, between a province and 
the congress, or between one province and another, the 
congress shall endeavour to adjust such difference in an 
amicable manner : and if an amicable adjustment cannot 
be effected, each province, at the request of either of the 
parties, shall appoint one person, before whom the cause 
shall be summarily brought and decided; the sovereign 
congress being invested with the right of carrying the 
decision into execution, and if the sentence be given against 
the said congress, being obliged to submit to it. 

9. The United States strictly bind themselves to afford 



OF THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS, 



453 



aid and assistance to each other : from the moment a pro- 
vince is attacked by a foreign enemy, they shall all make 
common cause, and altogether defend, to the utmost of 
their strength, the province assailed. 

10. No province shall be at liberty to contract any alli- 
ance or treaty whatever with a foreign power, without the 
consent of the congress ; and the particular provinces shall 
have no power to unite, ally, or join themselves together, 
in any manner whatever, without the consent of the con- 
gress. The province of Flanders, nevertheless, shall be at 
liberty to unite itself to West Flanders, on condition that 
each shall have its particular deputies in the congress, that 
these deputies shall have a free and independent voice, and 
that the deputies of the one shall never be at the same time 
deputies of the other. 

11. This Union shall be firm, perpetual, and irrevocable; 
no one province, nor several, not even the majority, being 
at liberty to break it, or separate themselves therefrom, 
under any pretext, or from any motive whatever. 

32. It is also invariably agreed upon that the civil and 
military powers, or any portion of the said powers, shall 
never be conferred on the same person, and that no one 
having a seat and vote in the congress shall be eligible to 
an employment in the military service ; and that on the 
other hand, no one holding a military employment shall 
be eligible as a deputy to the congress, or be competent to 
have a seat and vote therein. In the same manner, no 
person who has an employment or pension under a foreign 
government, under whatever denomination the same may 
be, can be admitted in the congress. All those are ex* 
eluded also, who, after the ratification of this treaty of 
Union, shall accept any military order, or decoration 
whatever. 

To effect this, all the states composing the Union in ge- 
neral, and each member in particular, as well as all those 



454 



CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 



who shall take a seat in the congress, all the counsellors 
and members of the councils of the provinces, all the ma- 
gistrates, and especially all the judges and civil officers, 
shall promise and swear faithful and strict observance of 
this Union, and of all, and of each of its points. Thus is it 
concluded, done, and decreed, at Brussels, in the general 
assembly of the United Belgic States, by the undersigned 
deputies of the respective states, under the ratification of 
their constituents. 

(The original, passed on the 11th January, 1790, at two 
o'clock in the morning, is signed by the deputies of 
Brabant, Guelderland, Flanders, West Flanders, Hainault, 
Namur, of the Tournesis and Malines.) 



DECREE 

OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION 

ON THE UNION OF BELGIUM AND THE TERRITORY OF LEIGE 

WITH THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 9 VENDEMIAIRE, YEAR 4. 

(l OCTOBER, 1795.) 

The national convention, having heard the report of the 
committee of public safety, decrees as follows: 

Art. 1. The decrees of the National Convention of the 
2nd and 4th of March and 8th of May, 1793, which united 
the countries of Liege, Stavelot, Logne, and Malmedi, to the 
French territory, shall be carried into execution according 
to their form and tenour. 

2. The decrees of the National Convention of the 1, 2, 
6, 8, 9, 11, 19, and 23 of March, 1793, which united to the 
French territory Hainault, the Tournaisis, the country of 
Namur, and the major part of the communes of Flanders and 
Brabant, shall in like mannner be carried into execution. 



OP THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS. 455 

3. The National Convention accepts the wishes expressed 
in 1793 by the communes of Ypres, Grammont, and other 
communes of Flanders, Brabant, and that part of Guelder- 
land heretofore Austrian, which were not included in the 
said decrees, for their union with the French territory. 

4. All the other countries on this side the Rhine, which, 
before the present war, were under the dominion of Austria, 
with such as were reserved to the French republic by the 
treaty concluded at the Hague, the 27 floreal last, between 
the plenipotentiaries of France and those of the United- 
Provinces, (which treaty is in no wise affected by any regu- 
lation contained in the present decree) are in like manner 
united to the French territory. 

6. The inhabitants of the countries of Liege, Stavelot, 
Logne, and Malmedi, with those of the communes of Bel- 
gium, which are comprised in art. 2 and 3 of the present 
decree, shall enjoy, from the present moment, all the rights 
of French citizens, if in other respects they possess the qua- 
lifications required by the constitution. 

6. With regard to the communes comprised in art. 4 
above, the inhabitants, until it shall be otherwise provided, 
shall enjoy all the rights guaranteed by the constitution 
to foreigners who reside in France, or possess property 
there. 

7. The countries mentioned in the first four articles of 
the present decree, shall be divided into nine departments : 
namely, that of the Dyle, principal town Brussels; the 
Scheldt, Ghent; La Lys, Bruges ; Jemmapes, Mons ; des 
Forets, Luxemburg ; Sambre et Meuse, Namur ; L'Ourthe, 
Liege; La Meuse Inferieure, Maastricht; des Deux-Nethes, 
Antwerp. 

8. The representatives of the people sent into Belgium 
are charged with fixing the respective boundaries of the 
said departments, and with dividing them into cantons like 
the other parts of the French territory. 



456 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS. 

9. They shall appoint, provisionally, the functionaries for 
forming the administrations of the departments, those of 
the cantons, and the tribunals of the countries of Limburg, 
Luxemburg, Maastricht, Venloo, and their dependencies, 
with Dutch Flanders. 

10. The legislative body shall determine the number of 
representatives of the people which each department, 
formed in pursuance of art. 7 above, shall have a right to 
return at the renewal intended to take place in the 5th year 
of the republic. 

11. The representatives of the people sent into Belgium 
shall look to the prompt return of the extraordinary contri- 
butions imposed on those countries, and forming their 
share of the expenses attending the war of liberty. 

12. The offices of the customs actually in being, whether 
between France and the countries mentioned in the first 
four articles of the present decree, or between different 
parts of the same countries, shall be suppressed. Those 
which are established between the said countries, the United 
Provinces, and the countries not re-united between the 
Meuse and Rhine, shall be maintained. 



457 

CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 
OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. 

ACT OF UNION 

OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, CONCLUDED AT UTRECHT 
THE 23RD JANUARY, 1579- 

■ Inasmuch as it is acknowledged that since the pacifica- 
tion of Ghent, in which the provinces of the Low Countries 
bound themselves to assist each other in expelling the 
Spaniards and other foreigners from their country, these 
same Spaniards have endeavoured by every means to bring 
back the provinces under their tyrannical yoke, and to de- 
stroy the union which the pacification of Ghent effected be- 
tween them. For these causes, the people of the duchy of 
Guelderland and county of Zutphen, those of the counties 
and territories of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Friesland, 
and Ommelands, between the Ems and the Lauwers, have 
thought fit*to form together a more particular and intimate 
alliance; not with any intention of withdrawing from the 
general union formed by the said pacification, but to 
strengthen it, to be in a better state of defence against the 
common enemy, and to prevent all further divisions. 

To effect these ends, the deputies of the aforesaid coun- 
tries, in virtue of the full powers which they have received 
from their constituents, and not designing to separate 
themselves from the holy Roman empire, have decreed and 
resolved upon the following articles. 

Art. 1. The aforesaid provinces ally, unite, and league 
themselves in perpetuity, so to confederate together as if 
they formed but a single province, no one being permitted 



458 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

to separate from the other by any convention or treaty what- 
ever; without any infringement, nevertheless, on the pri- 
vileges, franchises, immunities, statutes, laudable usages, 
and other rights which any one of the provinces, towns, 
members, or inhabitants, may possess. Not only will they 
abstain from all injury or encroachment on the said privi- 
leges, fyc, but they mutually pledge themselves, at the peril 
of their lives and fortunes, to assist each other in defending 
and maintaining them by all suitable means against who- 
ever shall attack them; and as to the differences which 
might arise between the members or towns of any province 
of this Union on account of the said privileges, rights, $•<?., 
they shall be determined by the ordinary judge, by arbitra- 
tion, or in a friendly manner, without the other provinces, 
towns, or members, so long as the parties submit them- 
selves to the ordinary jurisdictions, having any right, 
except to promote an accommodation as mediators, to in- 
terfere or interpose in the same, 

2. The aforesaid countries, in virtue of this Union, 
firmly and mutually bind themselves, at the peril of their 
lives and fortunes, to defend each other against all violence 
which might be intended them in the name, or on the part 
of the king : whether such violence be meditated against 
them, because, on occasion of the pacification of Ghent, 
they took up arms against Don John, and received the arch- 
duke Matthias as governor ; or on account of the conse- 
quences which have resulted, or which might result there- 
from, even under pretence of introducing and establishing 
the catholic religion by force of arms ; or on account of the 
changes which have taken place in the said provinces, since 
the year 1558; or on account of this present Union and 
confederacy ; or finally, in a case where a province, town, or 
member in particular, or even all in general, should be the 
object of attack. 

3. The aforesaid provinces agree to assist each oth^r 



OP THE UNITED PROVINCES. 459 

against all lords, princes, states or towns, whether foreign- 
ers or of the country, who might wish to injure or make 
war upon them : it being understood that the necessary 
succours and subsidies shall be fixed by the generality of 
the Union, with a cognizance of the cause, and according 
to circumstances. 

4. And the better to secure the said provinces, towns, 
and members, it is resolved that the frontier towns, and 
such others as may be thought to require it, shall be for- 
tified according to the advice and order of the aforesaid 
United Provinces, at the expense of the towns and pro- 
vinces in which they are situated ; but that the generality 
shall contribute to the expense as far as one half: it being 
understood that if the aforesaid provinces think proper to 
construct any new forts in any one of the said provinces, 
or to repair or demolish those which are now in existence, 
the expense shall be borne by the generality. 

5. In order to supply the necessary expenses for the de- 
fence of the provinces, it is resolved, that every three 
months, or at periods of time more suitable, there shall be 
publicly farmed out to the highest bidder, or gathered by 
collectors, in the provinces of the Union, certain duties laid 
on wine, beer, corn, gold, silver and woollen cloth, horned 
cattle, sown lands, butchers' meat, horses, oxen, and on all 
other articles which hereafter, by unanimous consent, it 
might be thought proper to tax. Finally, the revenues arising 
from the king's domains may be employed for this purpose, 
but this after deducting the charges to which they may be 
subject. 

6. The said duties shall be augmented or diminished 
according to the wants and necessities of the state, in pur- 
suance of the general will ; they shall be levied only for 
the common defence, and for those expenses which belong 
to the generality, without being liable to be diverted to any 
other purpose. 



460 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

7. The frontier towns and even other places, when neces- 
sity calls for it, shall be at all times obliged to receive such 
garrisons as the aforesaid United Provinces, with the 
advice of the stadtholder of the province in which the gar- 
rison is to be placed, shall think proper to station in them : 
but such garrisons shall be paid by the United Provinces. 
And the officers and soldiers, besides the oath taken to the 
general Union, shall be also obliged to take an oath to 
the town, place, or province, in which they are quartered, 
and in such terms as the tenor of their patents shall re- 
quire. A discipline so exact shall be preserved that the 
inhabitants, as well ecclesiastical as secular, shall be in 
no wise molested. The soldiers of the garrison, as well 
as the burgesses and inhabitants, shall be subject to impost 
and excise ; but the burgesses and others, as is practised 
in the province of Holland, shall be paid for their quarters 
by the generality. 

8. And to the end that assistance may be always ready 
in case of need, all the male inhabitants of every province, 
from the age of eighteen to sixty, shall be obliged, within 
the space of one month at the latest, from the present time, 
to enrol their names, in order that at the first assembly of 
the confederate states, such measures may be adopted, as 
may be judged expedient for the security and defence of the 
country. 

9. And it shall not be lawful to conclude either peace or 
truce, to undertake any war, levy any impost or tax in 
favour of the generality, except with the advice and unani- 
mous consent of the provinces of the Union. But in all 
other affairs relating to the management of this confe- 
deracy, the majority of the votes of the said provinces shall 
determine the conduct to be pursued. These votes shall 
be collected, as has been hitherto practised in the assembly 
of the states-general, always provisionally, (that is, subject 
to the ratification of the members of the confederacy them- 



OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, 



461 



selves,) until by the unanimous consent of the confederates, 
it shall be otherwise decreed. In case of the provinces of 
the Union not being: able to agree on affairs relating to peace, 
truce, war, or contributions, the decision shall be provi- 
sionally referred to the stadtholders of the aforesaid pro- 
vinces, who shall adjust the difference between the parties, 
or decide as they think expedient. And should the stadt- / 
holders be unable to agree among themselves on the points 
referred to them, they shall then, and in that case, choose 
such impartial assessors and colleagues as to them shall 
seem good, and to their decision the parties shall be finally 
bound to submit. 

10. No province, town, or other member of the Union 
shall be at liberty to contract any alliance with the neigh- 
bouring lords or states, without the consent of the other 
confederates. 

11. In case of any neighbouring prince, lord, town or 
territory wishing to accede to the present Union, they shall 
be free to be admitted therein with the advice and unani- 
mous consent of the provinces of the Union. 

12. With regard to money and the circulating specie, 
the provinces shall be obliged to conform to the ordinances 
which hereafter, and on the first opportunity, shall be made 
public ; and on this point no one shall be at liberty to make 
any innovation without the consent of the others. 

13. In matters of religion, Holland and Zealand shall act 
as they think proper; but the other members of the Union 
shall be at liberty to regulate their conduct by the religious 
peace which the archduke and his council have agreed 
upon, in conformity with the opinion of the states-general f, 

* This article at first gave rise to some difficulties. It was thought to 
be framed with the view of excluding from the confederacy all those who 
admitted the religious peace, or at least the two religions, the catholic and 
protestant. In consequence, some days after, it was added by way of 
explanation, that no idea was entertained of excluding from the confedera- 
tion, the provinces and towns which admitted only the Roman catholic 



462 CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 

On this article, they shall be free to publish such ordinances 
as they think necessary for the repose and well-being of 
each province, town, and member, and for the defence of 
the rights of every one, whether ecclesiastical or civil, with- 
out their being liable to be disturbed or molested on account 
of the same, by any other province : provided, nevertheless, 
that each province enjoy liberty of conscience, and that, in 
conformity to the principles laid down in the pacification of 
Ghent, no person be called to an account or disturbed for 
the sake of his religion. 

14. In deference to the pacification of Ghent, all the reli- 
gious persons and ecclesiastics shall enjoy their property 
and effects in the United Provinces ; but such religious per- 
sons as in time of war shall have quitted their cloisters 
situated in a country subject to the Spaniards, to withdraw 
into Holland or Zealand, shall be decently maintained by 
the convents or communities whence they have with- 
drawn, which rule shall equally hold good with regard to 
such as withdraw from Holland and Zealand into the 
other provinces. 

15. Those who, for the sake of religion or from other 
reasonable motives, shall have quitted, or shall wish to quit 
their convents and communities situated in the provinces 
of the Union, shall be maintained, during their lives, from 
the revenues of the said convents : but those who hence- 
forward enter cloisters, and afterwards abandon them, 
shall have no right to claim any thing for their mainte- 
nance, or draw any thing from the said cloisters beyond 
what they carried with them. Religious persons, more- 
over, both now and for the future, shall enjoy all free- 
religion, and in which the number of protestants was not sufficiently great 
to entitle them, conformably to the religious peace, to the exercise of their 
religion ; that they would be readily received into the Union provided they 
would observe the articles, and conduct themselves as good patriots, inas- 
much as it was not among the objects in view that one province or town 
should impose conditions on the others, on the subject of religion. 



OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. 463 

dom of religion and habit, provided that in every thing 
else they submit themselves to their superiors. 

16. If any misunderstanding or difference should arise 
between the provinces, it shall be determined by the other 
provinces, or by their commissioners, and if the affair 
should interest all the provinces in general, it shall be 
referred to the decision of the stadtholders conformably to 
the rules laid down in art. 9. And the said stadtholders, 
after being called upon by either of the parties, shall be 
obliged, within one month, or sooner if required, to ad- 
minister right and justice between them ; and their sentence 
shall be carried into execution, notwithstanding every ap- 
peal, relief of appeal, revision, nullity, or other protest 
whatsoever. 

17. The provinces, towns, and members of the Union 
shall carefully avoid affording any grounds for war to 
foreign states and provinces : the more effectually to pre- 
vent this, they shall render the same impartial justice to 
foreigners as to the inhabitants. If one of the provinces 
were deficient in this respect, the others would be obliged 
to lend their assistance, conformably to the rights, privileges, 
and laudable usages of each province. 

18. No province, town, or member of the Union, shall be 
at liberty to levy any impost, transport duty, or other tax 
whatever, to the prejudice of the other members, without 
the general consent, or to charge any of the confederates 
more than its own inhabitants. 

19. And to prevent all difficulties that might otherwise 
arise, the confederates, on being duly convened by persons 
authorized for this purpose, shall be obliged to appear at 
Utrecht on a fixed day, to deliberate on the affairs ex- 
pressed, unless secrecy be required, in the letters of convo- 
cation. The decrees there enacted shall be carried unani- 
mously, or by a majority of votes. Those who do not 
appear shall be obliged to conform to the resolutions taken, 



464 



CONSTITUTIVE LAWS 



except in very important affairs which may admit of delay, 
in which case the absent members shall be anew convoked, 
under the penalty, this time, of forfeiting their suffrages 
by absence. But those who by lawful impediment shall be 
prevented from appearing, shall be at liberty to send their 
opinions in writing, and in summing up the votes, regard 
shall be paid to such opinions. 

20. Each confederate shall be obliged to communicate to 
the persons charged with making the convocation, the 
affairs in which the confederation might be interested, to 
the end that the other provinces might be called together 
for the consideration of such affairs. 

21. If any doubtful expression or obscurity occur in the 
articles of the present Union, the interpretation thereof 
shall be referred to the common judgment of the confede- 
rates ; and if they cannot agree, recourse shall be had to the 
stadtholders in the manner above laid down. 

22. Should it be thought necessary to make any additions 
to, or alterations in any articles of this Union, the opinion 
and common consent of the confederates shall be necessary 
to give effect to the same. 

23. The provinces mutually promise and engage them- 
selves to observe, and to cause to be observed, all the afore- 
said articles, declaring null and void every thing which might 
be contrary to the same : and for this they bind their per- 
sons, their properties, and those of all the inhabitants of 
their respective provinces, submitting both one and the 
other to all lords and tribunals, and renouncing every claim, 
right, and privilege, which might be able to withdraw them 
from the judgment of the same. 

24. And for the greater security, the stadtholders, as 
well present as future, the magistrates and principal officers 
of each province, town and member, shall take an oath to 
observe, and to cause to be observed, all the articles of this 
Union. 



OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. 465 

25. The same oath shall be taken by all companies of 
citizens, communities, and societies of tradesmen in the 
towns and boroughs of this Union. 

26. Faithful copies of the present instrument shall be 
taken, which shall be sealed by the stadtholders, by the 
principal members, and by the principal towns of the pro- 
vinces of the Union, after due requisition made to them for 
this purpose, and signed by their secretaries. 



CONSTITUTION 

OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. 



Chapter I.— Government of the United Provinces in general, 
% 1. Of the Confederation. 

The United Provinces are Gueldeiiand with the county of 
Zutphen, Holland and West Friesland, Zealand, Utrecht, 
Friesland, Over-Yssel, Groningen, and Orninelands. 

These different provinces, though united and strictly 
bound to each other, are independent, absolute, and sove- 
reign, each in its own territory. 

The states of each province do not acknowledge any su- 
perior authority, not even the body composed of all the 
United Provinces. 

% 2. Of the States- general. 

The assemblies of the states-general are composed of as 
many deputies plenipotentiary as there are united provinces. 

The deputies are to take care that no attempt be made on 
the sovereignty of the province. 

This assembly represents, even with regard to foreigners, 
the body of the seyen confederated sovereignties. 
Vol. I. 2 H 



466 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

The states-general exercise sovereignty over the terri- 
tories and places conquered by the arms of the allies, over 
the countries of Outre-Meuse, Hulst, Ecluse and several 
other places in Flanders, which they possess as the king of 
Spain possessed them, without prejudice to the rights of 
the particular lords ; as well as over the countries acquired 
by the companies of the East and West Indies. 

The assembly of the states-general takes cognizance of 

I affairs which concern the union and the common defence : 

/ resolutions are taken by a majority of the votes of the 

/ provinces; but their powers are limited in what regards 

the essence of the alliance, for in this case they cannot 

adopt a resolution except by the unanimous consent of all 

the allies. In particular, they cannot undertake a war at 

| the common expense of the state, levy taxes, or contract an 

alliance to be binding, except by unanimous and express 

consent. 

The number of deputies for each province is not deter- 
mined : all the deputies of a province have only a single 
vote. Each province, beginning with Guelderland, presides 
in its turn for a week: the first deputy presides the whole 
week. The president, on ordinary occasions, brings for- 
ward the subject of discussion, although every deputy has 
the right of making motions : he afterwards collects the 
opinion of each province, takes the resolution, which he 
dictates to the secretary and signs. If the president refuses 
to adopt the resolution which is sanctioned by a majority 
of votes, on the ground of its being prejudicial to the inte- 
rests of his province, he must resign his place to the presi- 
dent of the preceding week, and so on. 

The assembly of the states-general is permanent, and 
fixed at the Hague. 

The deputies are to be employed in the government of 
the state: those who hold military employments cannot 
form a part. 



UNITED PROVINCES. 467 

§ 3. Of the Council of State. 

The council of state is composed of deputies from all the 
provinces ; but amongst its members, some are deputed by 
particular provinces, others are simply counsellors of state, 
and receive their commissions from the assembly of the 
states-general. 

The number of deputies is in general regulated after the 
forms according to which each province contributes to the 
common expenses of the state. 

Guelderland sends two deputies; Utrecht and Groningen 
one each ; Holland three ; Zealand two ; Friesland two, and 
Over-Yssel one*. 

The president does not preside in the council as in the 
states-general, according to the rank of his province: each 
counsellor discharges the functions in turn as counsellor of 
state, and not as representative of a particular province; 
he must always decide according to the majority of votes. 

This council has the management of affairs relating to 
war, but is subordinate to the states-general : it takes cog- 
nizance also of the administration of the finances. 

The treasurer-general has a seat in the council, but in 
affairs belonging to his office only, has a deliberative voice. 

When the fixed revenues are not adequate to the expenses, 
the council requires that funds should be raised to meet the 
extraordinary expenses of war. 

The counsellors hold their office for a time ; the treasurer 
for life. 

The provinces are obliged to decide on such bills as relate 

* Taking the aliquot parts of a hundred pounds, the following* is the 
proportion in which the provinces contributed to the expenses of the state : 
Guelderland 7, Holland 42, Zealand 13, Utrecht 8, Friesland I7 r 
Over-Yssel 5, Groning-en 8. At least such is the rate assigned by Ailzina, 
who wrote about the year 1668, and is quoted in a " Description of Hol- 
land," or " the present State of the United Provinces." Lond. 1743. 

2 H 2 



468 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

to the raising funds for meeting the ordinary expenses of 
war, before the 1st of May: after this period, their silence 
is reputed to imply consent. For raising supplies to meet 
extraordinary expenses, the unanimous and express consent 
of the provinces is necessary *. 

§ 4. Of the Chamber of Accounts. 

The chamber of accounts is composed of deputies from 
all the provinces, and of two secretaries, who discharge also 
the functions of auditors and examiners. 

It arranges the accounts between the provinces, and ex- 
amines those of the special receivers, those of the domain 
belonging to the state, and those of the receivers of the 
admiralty. 

It inspects and regulates the accounts of expenses of 
the deputies of the states-general, and council of state, who 
perform journeys or execute commissions in the service of 
the republic, also those of the extraordinary expenses of 
ambassadors, deputies extraordinary, and other ministers 
employed in foreign courts. 

It keeps an exact register of the ordinances promulgated 
by the council of state. 

§5. Of the Admiralty. 

The admiralty is composed of deputies from all the pro- 
vinces, who have the management of every thing which 
concerns the marine and what depends thereon, in the 
name of the state. 

The admiralty is charged with collecting the duties of 
export and import, by land and sea, with the consent of the 
provinces. 

* It was the duty of the council of state to make estimates of these 
expenses and lay them before the states-general, with a request that they 
would obtain the consent of the provincial states for raising the money 
according" to their respective quotas. The provincial states, again, were 
oblig-ed to consult their respective members. 



UNITED PROVINCES. 469 

These duties must be employed in the equipment and 
maintenance of vessels of war employed at sea for the pro- 
tection and support of commerce. 

The admiralty delivers in its accounts to the chamber of 
accounts: the members who compose it take an oath of 
fidelity to the republic before the states-general. 

Chapter II. — Government of the several Provinces. 

The sovereign power in general resides in the body 
composed of the nobles and magistrates of towns. 

Each province has its particular government, although 
they differ little from each other. 

The free exercise of all religions is tolerated in the 
United Provinces. 

§ 1. Guelderland. 

This province is divided into three quarters : the county 
of Zutphen, the quarter of Nimeguen, and the quarter of 
Velierre : these three quarters form three deliberative votes 
in the states of the province, and are represented therein 
by deputies. 

The states are invested with the sovereign authority. 

Each quarter holds its particular assembly ; these assem- 
blies are composed of two members : the first is formed by 
the body of nobles, the second by that of the towns. 

When a resolution is adopted in each quarter, it is carried 
to the general assembly, and the sovereign resolution is de- 
termined by a majority of two quarters against one. 

The stadtholder of the United Provinces is the chief of 
the nobles of Guelderland ; he is represented in the as- 
sembly by another nobleman, who presides over it. 

The number of nobles having a right to sit in the states 
is unlimited. 

Every noble, endowed with the requisite qualifications, 
and twenty-two years of age, is admissible to the common 
regency. 



470 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

The number of towns is fixed, and cannot be increased : 
but the magisterial colleges are permitted to send to the 
assemblies of their quarter as many deputies as they think 
proper ; the deputies of each town, however, forming to- 
gether but a single vote. 

The burgomaster for the time being presides over the 
assemblies of his quarter. All affairs which interest the 
quarter are discussed in these assemblies, 

The general assemblies are held twice a year, and alter- 
nately in the three principal towns. 

The particular assemblies bear the title of diets: the 
general assemblies, that of the states of the principality of 
Guelderland and county of Zutphen. 

Guelderland sends nineteen deputies to the assemblies of 
the states-general of the United Provinces. 

§ 2. Holland. 

Holland and West Friesland have one and the same 
government, called the states of Holland and West Friesland. 
The states of Holland are composed of two parts, which 
are reputed to represent the entire body of the people ; the 
nobles or equestrian order, and the representatives of the 
towns of the province. 

The number of nobles is not fixed, nor is it at all times 
the same: they elect by a majority of votes, those whom 
they wish to admit into their body. 

The Prince of Orange presides over the equestrian order in 
quality of first noble of the province, and not of stadtholder. 
The body of nobility deliberates separately : it decides by 
a majority of votes, and this decision carried to the as- 
sembly, forms only one vote. 

The Prince of Orange, in quality of first noble of Hol- 
land, Zealand, tyc, is an integral member of the sove- 
reignty, that is, he has a deliberative voice, like any partis 
cular town, in the assembly of the states, 



UNITED PROVINCES. 471 

The towns which send deputies to the states of the pro- 
vince of Holland, are eighteen : the number of their 
deputies is not fixed. These towns form a body separate 
from the equestrian order, and deliberate apart. A majority 
of the votes of the towns, and not of those who represent 
them, expresses the resolutions of this body. 

A majority of nineteen deliberative voices, in the states 
of Holland, determines the resolutions of the sovereign 
authority. 

Extraordinary assemblies are convoked by a circular 
letter addressed to the towns. These towns send their de- 
puties with precise, formal, and determinate instructions, 
from which it is not permitted them to swerve, without 
having first taken the advice of their respective constituents. 
The letter of convocation explains the points which are to 
be the subjects of deliberation, and is written by a com- 
mittee of the states permanently fixed at the Hague, and 
composed of a small number of magistrates, deputies ad hoc. 
The subjects for deliberation are discussed in the dif- 
ferent bodies composing the regencies of the towns which 
have a vote in the states: these resolutions are carried by 
a majority of the votes of the regents composing the great 
council of the town ; these regents are reputed to represent 
the people only. 

The number of magistrates composing the town council 
is not fixed for every town of Holland: in all they are 
divided into three classes : the first is formed of burgomas- 
ters, the second of sheriffs, the third of counsellors. 

The votes of the members composing this assembly 
are of equal weight, and every thing is decided by the 
majority. 

The counsellor-pensionary, or minister sent by the towns 
to the assembly of the states of Holland, is always a mem- 
ber of the council of the chamber of burgomasters, but he 
has no vote : the equestrian order has also its counsellor- 



472 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



pensionary: this last is at the same time pensionary of 
the whole assembly of the states, with the title of grand- 
pensionary. 

The grand-pensionary opens the deliberations in the 
assembly of the states, proposes subjects, collects the votes, 
in fine, presides over the assembly. He is natural deputy 
of the province to the states general, and council of state*. 
His functions last five years, but this period may be 
extended. 

The college of counsellor-deputies, ten for Holland, and 
seven for Friesland, is charged with the finances and affairs 
of war, as well as with the care of convoking the provin- 
cial states in case of need. 

The entire province sends to the assembly of the states- 
general one deputy from North Holland, two deputies from 
the council of state, others from the nobility, others in the 
name of the towns of South Holland, and one in that of the 
towns of West Friesland, with the pensionary of the pro- 
vince. 

§ 3. Zealand. 

The states of Zealand are composed of two members re- 
presenting the entire province : the equestrian order forms 
the first, and is represented by the stadtholder alone in 
quality of marquis of Flushing and Veer, and who, in his 
character of representative, gives his vote the first in the 
provincial assembly, the council of state, and the chamber 
of accounts. 

The second member is composed of deputies from the 
six towns of Middleburg, Zeirckzee, Goes, Thalen, Flushing 
and Veer, each of which has one voice. 

* Thus, although the grand pensionary, properly speaking", was only 
the prime minister of the province of Holland, he was so in fact of the 
seven United Provinces, because this province, having- the chief influence, 
it was natural that the person who directed it, should at the same time 
direct the whole confederacy. 



UNITED PROVINCES. 473 

The states ordinarily meet twiee a year ; and extraordi- 
narily, whenever the counsellor-deputies require it. Their 
resolutions are carried by a majority of votes. 

The grand council and provincial court of Holland are 
common to Zealand. 

This province sends four deputies to the states-general, 
who hold their office for life : they are chosen by turns from 
among the magistrates of the towns which have the right 
of suffrage, excepting Middleburg, which has the privilege 
of always sending a deputy. 

The college of the counsellor-deputies, and that of the 
admiralty, take an oath of fidelity to the states-general. 

A chamber of accounts is charged with administering the 
domains and revenues of the whole country. There is also a 
court of justice, from which appeals are carried to the 
states-general. 

The synod (ccetics) assembles only when the states think 
necessary : each of the four classes of clergy sends there 
two deputies, who discuss the subject of debate in presence 
of two other deputies from the council. 

The synod decides in the last resort such disputes as are 
brought before them by appeal from the different classes. 

§ 4. Utrecht. 

The states are composed of three parts ; of the deputies 
of the nobility, those of the towns, and those of five chap- 
ters, namely, the Dome, Saint Peter, Saint John, the Old 
Monastery, and Saint Mary. 

Each chapter returns a certain number of deputies, 
forming the first order of the states, under the name of 
elect. 

The representatives of the nobility must be nobles by 
birth, and have possessions in the province : their number 
is not fixed. 



474 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

The towns which enjoy the right of sending deputies are 
Utrecht, Amersfort, Rhenen, Wykby, Dunrstide and 
Montfort. 

The vote of the town of Utrecht alone balances that of 
four others. 

The college of ordinary deputies is composed of four 
elect, four nobles, two deputies from the town of Utrecht, 
one from that of Amersfort, and one for the three other 
towns, which send there by turns one deputy every four 
months. 

§ 5. Friesland. 

The states of Friesland are composed of four integral 
parts, which exercise the sovereign authority conjointly. 

The province is divided into four great quarters ; the flat 
country forming three, and the towns possessing a delibe- 
rative voice in the states, a fourth. The votes of these four 
quarters concur in the decisions and resolutions of the 
sovereign authority. 

The nobles do not form a separate body. 

The three quarters of the flat country are divided into 
several small districts or griettines: each griettine holds 
its particular assembly, which is composed of all the heads 
of families and freeholders of the district. A small field 
with a house having a chimney, gives the possessor a right 
of admission into the assembly, and of voting there : his 
voice has equal weight with that of the richest citizen of 
the canton. 

A citizen elected by a majority of votes, presides over 
the assembly. 

When the griettines have adopted a resolution, the pre^ 
sident or griet-man carries it, in quality of deputy, to the 
general assembly of the quarter in which the griettine is 
situated. 

In this assembly of the quarter, resolutions are adopted 



UNITED PROVINCES. 475 

by a majority of the votes of the griettines represented by 
their griet-mans, and the resolutions of the quarter are car- 
ried to the provincial states by deputies. These deputies 
have only one vote in the state, and the vote is one of the 
four which have a decisive weight therein. 

The towns of Friesland, taken collectively, have a vote in 
the states. 

Each town has a regency composed of a certain number 
of magistrates, who represent the citizens, although they are 
not appointed by them. 

The resolutions of each town are carried by a majority of 
the votes of the magistrates : the resolutions of the quarter 
formed by the towns, are adopted in a general assembly by a 
majority of the votes of the towns, represented by their de- 
puties. 

The general assembly appoints the magistrates who are 
to represent it in the states, and who have only one deli- 
berative voice. 

The deputies of the four quarters, forming the states of 
the province, treat of the general and particular affairs of 
the province, and of every thing which relates to the con- 
federacy : they cannot deviate from the instructions which 
they receive from their high constituents. 

In case of division, two quarters of the flat country, 
voting together, carry the resolution. 

For carrying into execution the orders of the states, there 
is a -college of deputies composed of nine members, who are 
changed every three years. The towns furnish three of 
these members, and the griettines six. 

The provincial court of Leuwarden is the supreme tri- 
bunal of Friesland. 

The province is represented in the assembly of the states- 
general by five deputies ; two in the name of the three 
quarters, two in the name of the towns, and the fifth in the 
name of the towns and quarter of Zevenwolden conjointly. 



476 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



§ 6. Over-Yssel, 

The states invested with the sovereign authority have 
two integral members ; the body of nobles, over which the 
prince of Orange or his representative presides, and that 
of the towns having a deliberative voice. 

All the noble families of the province are admitted to the 
states, not only the heads of families, but such sons, bro- 
thers, 8fC>, as have attained the requisite age. 

The towns are three in number, and are reputed to repre- 
sent the people of Over-Yssel : these are Deventer, Kam- 
pen, and Zwal. 

General resolutions are decided by four votes: the nobles, 
as a body, have one, and the three towns each one. When 
two towns are of one opinion, and the third is of the same 
opinion as the equestrian order, the latter carries it. If the 
three towns are unanimous against the equestrian order, 
there is a division and equality of votes, and the question 
is determined by the casting vote of the stadtholder. 

To gain admission into the general assemblies, a gentle- 
man is obliged to prove, not only that he is a noble, and 
professes the reformed religion, but that he is twenty-four 
years of age, and possesses a property in land (havezaat) ; 
that he possesses immoveable effects to the value of more 
than twenty-five thousand florins. 

The regencies of the towns of Over-Yssel are composed 
of sixteen counsellors, who are all burgomasters. These 
counsellors form the town councils when the general 
affairs of the province are discussed in relation to the 
confederacy. 

Two of these burgomasters govern in succession during 
six weeks : they are appointed by the stadtholder. 

When the particular affairs of the town, and its territory, 
are the subjects of discussion, the town council is com- 
posed of sixteen burgomasters, and forty tribunes of the 
people. 



UNITED PROVINCES. 477 

The burgomasters can decide nothing contrary to the 
opinion of the tribunes, if they have the majority of votes 
in their favour. 

The tribunes elect their, own members, and from their 
body the burgomasters are taken. 

The council of state and finance is composed of six per- 
sons, of whom three are appointed by the nobles, and three 
by the towns. 

The three chief towns, so far as the administration of 
justice is concerned, acknowledge no superior. 

Over-Yssel sends five deputies to the assembly of the 
states-general ; two from the body of the nobility, and one 
member from the regency of each chief town. 

§ 7. Groningen. 

The states are composed of two integral members ; the 
town of Groningen, the only one which has a deliberative 
voice in the states of the province, and the Ommelands or 
flat country. 

This province has no distinct and separate body of nobles. 

The Ommelands are divided into several small districts 
corresponding to the griettines of Friesland. These districts 
deliberate in the same manner as in Friesland : their reso- 
lutions are adopted in the same way, and are carried to the 
general assembly, — See Friesland. 

The stadtholder has in this province the same rights, 
prerogatives, and privileges, as in Friesland. 

The deputies of the Ommelands are chosen in part from 
among the nobility, and in part from the class of labourers. 
Both must possess a certain extent of landed property. 

There is a college (of states deputies) composed of eight 
persons, of whom four are taken from the town of Gronin- 
gen, and four from the Ommelands, and a provincial court 
which constitutes the sovereign seat of justice. 

Groningen sends six deputies to the states-general. 



478 CONSTITUTION OF THE 



REVOLUTION OF 1795. 



The same series of successes which led to the subjection 
of the Austrian Netherlands by France, conducted the arms 
of that power into the United Provinces. A large part, if 
not a majority of the inhabitants, favoured the progress of 
the invaders. The old anti-Orange faction, always for- 
midable, was now strengthened by the partisans of the new 
republican sentiments, who, excited by the same feelings 
of hatred towards the stadtholder, and zeal for the subver- 
sion of ancient institutions which animated the French 
themselves, invited their co-operation, and every where 
hailed them as deliverers. 

The winter campaign of 1794-95 decided the fate of 
Holland. The natural defences of the country, its nume- 
rous rivers and dikes, frozen over by the severity of the 
season, only facilitated the progress of the invaders, by 
affording them an easy passage into the heart of the coun- 
try. The British were compelled to abandon it. The 
stadtholder, after some ineffectual attempts at peace, em- 
barked for England. The whole country was subdued by 
France; and the republican party, under their auspices, 
immediately commenced the work of revolution. 



DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OP MAN AND OF A 
CITIZEN. 

LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY. 

The provisional representatives of the people of Holland, 
believing it a duty which they owe their fellow citizens to 
make a solemn declaration of the principles on which their 



UNITED PROVINCES. 479 

proceedings and actions are founded, to all who these pre- 
sents shall see or shall hear read, greeting. 

Be it known, that we are thoroughly impressed with 
the opinion that the power confided to us rests entirely on 
the free choice of our fellow citizens, and that it is from 
their election alone we have received it ; that the supreme 
power, far from belonging to us, resides essentially in the 
people, and this in such manner, that while they can con- 
fide the exercise thereof to their representatives, it is for- 
bidden them ever to alienate it ; that we are fully assured 
that the evils which now weigh so heavily on this country 
and on the other provinces, are principally to be attributed 
to the perverse ideas which have been instilled into the 
people by artifice and violence ; and therefore it is the duty 
of the representatives of the people who desire to be faith- 
ful to their trust, to lay down certain and evident princi- 
ples, and to fix them as the rules of their conduct ; and 
although we think the final settlement of these rights 
ought to be the first work of a national convocation of the 
representatives of the whole people, still in justice to the 
confidence which our fellow citizens have placed in us, we 
think it our duty thus publicly to make a solemn ac- 
knowledgment of the rights of man and of a citizen, in 
declaring, as by these presents we do acknowledge and 
declare ; 

" That all men are born with equal rights, and that 
these natural rights cannot be taken from them ; 

" That these rights are equality ', liberty, security, pro- 
perty, and resistance to oppression ; 

" That liberty is the power which belongs to every man 
of being able to do what does not affect the rights of other 
men, and consequently, that its natural limits are found in 
this principle : Do not that to another which thou wouldst 
not that he should do to thee; 

" That it is therefore permitted to all, and. to each, to 



480 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

make known his thoughts and sentiments to others, either 
by way of the press, or in any other manner; 

" That every man has a right to serve God in any way 
he pleases, without being liable to be compelled to any par- 
ticular form of worship ; 

" That security consists in the certainty of not being 
molested by another in the exercise of one's rights, nor in 
the peaceable possession of property legally acquired ; 

" That every one has a right to vote in the legislative 
assembly of the entire society, either personally, or by a 
representative in whose election he has concurred ; 

" That the end of all civil societies ought to be to 
secure men in the peaceable enjoyment of their natural 
rights ; 

" That, consequently, the natural liberty of being able 
to do every thing which does not interfere with the rights 
of another, can never be opposed, except when the end of 
civil society absolutely requires it ; 

" That limits of this kind can never be imposed on 
natural liberty, except by the people or their repre- 
sentatives ; 

" That, consequently, no person can be compelled to 
cede or sacrifice any part of his individual property to the 
community, unless such sacrifice be expressly called for by 
the will of the people, or their representatives, and after a 
previous indemnity ; 

" That the law is the free and solemn expression of the 
general will ; that it is equal for all, whether it punishes or 
rewards ; 

" That no person can be judicially accused, arrested, or 
put in prison, except in such cases, and according to such 
formalities as are previously determined by the law itself; 

6 * That in case it be thought necessary to retain any one 
prisoner, he ought not to be treated more rigorously than 
is absolutely necessary for the security of his person; 



UNITED PROVINCES, 



481 



" That all men being equal, all are eligible to public 
posts and employments, without any other motive for pre- 
ference than such as arise from virtue and capacity ; 

" That every one has a right to concur in requiring from 
every officer of the public administration, an account and 
justification of his conduct ; 

" That no opposition can be offered to the right enjoyed 
by every citizen of representing what is his interest to those 
to whom the public authority is confided ; 

" That the sovereignty resides in the people entire, and 
that no portion can arrogate it to themselves ; 

" That such are the principles upon which we have thought 
it our duty to found our conduct and proceedings; and that 
willing to apply them to the order of things which formerly 
existed, we forthwith perceived that the form of govern- 
ment confirmed in 1787, by means of the invasion of the 
Prussian army, and consequently by force, was in every 
respect contrary to the same ; 

" That the persons who formerly composed the assembly of 
the self-called states of Holland, and West Friesland, were 
never chosen by their fellow citizens for their representa- 
tives; and that consequently the existence of such a go- 
vernment was incompatible with the rights of man and of 
a citizen; that we from the first perceived that all here- 
ditary dignities, such as those of hereditary stadtholder, 
captain-general and admiral of this province, and of the 
equestrian order, as well as all hereditary nobility, were 
repugnant to the rights of man; and that accordingly, all 
ought to be held and declared abolished, as they are de- 
clared abolished by these presents ; 

" That sensible as we are that all the forced and unlawful 
oaths for the observance of the old constitution, and which 
were prescribed in 1787 and 1788, supposing them to 
have been before of some import, became by this circum- 
stance of no value ; yet, nevertheless, to set at ease and 
Vol. I. 2 X 



482 CONSTITUTION OP THE. 

tranquillize the minds of all and every one, we further 
declare, in the name of the people of Holland, as it is most 
fully and expressly declared by these presents, ' That all 
c citizens who have taken the said oath are, by these pre- 
f sents, entirely discharged from the obligations of the 
* same ; ' 

" That with these principles, also, were found wholly in- 
compatible the college, as it was formerly called, of the 
counsellor deputies of the quarter, both north and south, 
the division of the economic administration, as well with 
regard to the finances as otherwise, and the chamber of 
accounts of Holland and West Friesland — as having also 
emanated from the old defective form of government, in 
which no real representation of the people prevailed ; and 
that consequently, we have thought it our duty to suppress 
and annihilate all the said colleges of counsellor deputies, 
both of North and South Holland, as we do declare them 
suppressed and abolished by these presents ; and that for 
the fit and prompt discharge of the duties attached to the 
said colleges, we have thought it our duty to establish and 
constitute, as we do by these presents establish and consti- 
tute a committee of public safety, whose functions shall 
entirely supersede those of the late counsellor deputies as 
to every thing that concerns the particular and economic 
interests of the whole province, and which were heretofore 
assigned to the said two colleges ; and moreover a military 
committee for the management of every thing that concerns 
the military order, and the military affairs of the entire pro- 
vince ; a committee of finance for conducting the financial 
affairs of the whole province ; and finally, a committee of ac- 
counts, for taking up and superseding the duties of the cham- 
ber of accounts of Holland — the whole, provisionally, and 
until definitive arrangements are made relative to the same 
by an assembly of representatives chosen by the whole people, 
who shall be convoked for this purpose as early as possible ; 



UNITED PROVINCES. 483 

that besides, we have thought it our duty to attach to our 
assembly no other title than that of provisional representa- 
tives of the people of Holland, without adding thereto the 
words West Friesland, having thought it better to comprise 
the entire province of Holland under that denomination. 

" We will and expressly order the courts of justice sitting 
in this province, together with the regencies of the towns 
and places therein situated, to communicate this, our pre- 
sent proclamation, to all the citizens of the said province, 
and this with all possible solemnity, whether it be with the 
sound of trumpets and ringing of bells, or in such other 
solemn manner as in each town or place shall be thought 
the most expedient, and furthermore, that the said presents 
be posted up and advertized wherever this is usually done, 
and that every one strictly conform thereto. 

" Done at the Hague, the 31st of January, 1795, the 
first year of Batavian liberty. 

" (Signed) P. PAULus,Vt, 

" C. I. De Lange Van Wingaerde." 



212 



484 



ESTABLISHMENT 

OF 

THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 



The victories of the French armies had subdued Holland. 
The French government thought it part of its policy to give 
the neighbouring states constitutions similar to its own 
(that of the directory). After several fruitless attempts, 
and much disorder, the Batavian republic was placed under 
a directorial government. The constitution which esta- 
blished it, promulgated the 1st of May, 1798, had only an 
ephemeral existence which may excuse us from the task of 
giving it at length. Its principal articles were taken from 
the French constitution then in force. 

The revolution in France of the year 8, was not with- 
out its influence on Holland, and a new constitution was 
there proclaimed in 1801. 

The Batavian directory, in a sitting of the 14th of Sep- 
tember, decreed a new project of a constitution, which it 
immediately submitted to the approbation of the Batavian 
people. It communicated this measure, together with the 
proclamation which it had just addressed to the Batavian 
people, to the legislative body. 

The legislative body, by a majority of two votes, resolved 
to suspend the effect of this proclamation. The direc- 
tory persisted in its resolution, and adjourned the legisla- 
tive body. It ordered, moreover, the closing of the two 
chambers, and the opening of registers for receiving the 
votes of the citizens. 

The 16th of October, the directory communicated to 
the nation the result of the returns. Of 416,419 citizens 



CONSTITUTION OF THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 485 

having a right to vote, there were only 52,219 against the 
project. 

The directory, considering the constitution accepted, im- 
mediately proceeded to the appointment of seven members 
for forming the regency of state, and accordingly elected 
the following citizens, William-Aarnom de Beveren, Ge- 
rard Branlsen, Samuel Van-Stoogstraten, David Corneille 
de Leeuw, William Queysen, James Spoors, and John 
Baptist Verheyen, who in their turn, to complete the num- 
ber of twelve, chose Anthony Frederic Robert Even Van 
Staersolte, Augustin Gerard Besier, Gerard John Pymaw, 
Otto Lewe, and Egbert Sjdek Gerold Junkerman Van Bur- 
mania Reugen. The regency thus formed appointed the 
citizen de Beveren president, and for their secretary the 
citizen Stulsman. 

The first sitting of the new government was opened by a 
speech from citizen de Beveren. " The period," said he, 
" at which we are called to the government of the republic 
" is without doubt one of the most memorable recorded in 
" the annals of our country. After the calamities of a 
" war which seemed interminable, we at length behold that 
" peace so often implored by the wishes of suffering hu- 
" manity ; a peace, let us declare it with freedom and con- 
" fidence, that will extricate Batavia from a calamitous 
" struggle, and this on conditions too, which, all the cir- 
" cumstances of our situation considered, surpass our 
" expectations ; a peace which, reviving the fondest hopes, 
" will quickly open to us again all the sources of our 
" prosperity. 

" Still, my colleagues, all these benefits would be lost to 
" our country, if to the happiness of external peace, we 
" could not add that of tranquillity within. 

" At the moment when we behold the great national 
" quarrel decided, let us have the magnanimity to repel 
*f far from our thoughts all ideas of party triumph : let 



486 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

" us labour in the generous design of consigning all 
" animosities, ail thirst of vengeance, in fine, all the 
" frightful passions engendered by civil discord to an 
" eternal oblivion. Let persuasion, let good examples, 
66 and not violence, command assent to our republican 
" institutions. Let us encourage real talents, pity error, 
" leave all opinions free, and suffer the laws to punish 
" crimes alone. Such are the maxims I would inculcate 
" as containing the durable elements of our reviving pros- 
" perity: Be it the business of all to preserve them as a 
" sacred deposit ; the ancient Batavian virtue, the wisdom, 
" the probity, the industry of the people, will perform the 
" rest." 



CONSTITUTION. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND DISPOSITIONS. 



Art. 1. The happiness of all is the first of laws. Conse- 
quently, no member or section of society can derive advan- 
tage from any particular law, to the prejudice of the rest. 

2. All the members of society are equal before the law, 
without distinction of rank or birth. 

3. Every citizen is at liberty to act as he pleases, but 
remains responsible to, and according to the law, as well for 
his actions, as for the propagation of his sentiments. 

4. The law lays down the necessary regulations for 
securing to every citizen an honest subsistence, but all ex- 
clusive privileges or affiliations are abolished. 

5. Every inhabitant is maintained in the peaceable pos- 
session and enjoyment of his property. No one can be 
deprived of any part of his possessions unless the general 



BATAVUN REPUBLIC, 487 

welfare should imperiously call for it, and in this case he 
receives a just and suitable indemnity. 

6. Every inhabitant is inviolable in his residence: no one 
can enter therein without his consent, and only in pursu- 
ance of an order emanating from a competent authority. 

7. No one can be arrested except according to law. No 
one can be judged or condemned except by a judge recog- 
nised by the constitution and the law, nor until he has been 
summoned conformably to the mode which they prescribe, 
and has obtained all the means of defence determined by 
the same. 

8. Every citizen must be heard within three days after 
he has been placed at the disposal of his proper judge. A 
communication of the grounds of his arrest cannot be re- 
fused him : the law determines the punishment of the 
judge who acts in opposition to these regulations. 

If the examination and grounds of arrest have not been 
communicated within the time above prescribed, the de- 
tained person is of right released and immediately set at 
liberty. 

9. All useless severity in the detention of prisoners is 
forbidden. All violent means used to extort confessions from 
them are abolished. 

10. Every citizen has a right to address, in writing, peti- 
tions and propositions to the competent authorities, pro- 
vided they are signed individually : except in this case, 
they can only be presented by bodies constituted by law, 
and must bear on such subjects only as relate to the func- 
tions they discharge. 

11. All religious societies which acknowledge a supreme 
being, and render him homage, tending to the promotion of 
virtue and good morals, are equally protected by the law. 

Every religious society publicly professes its opinions, 
and grants free access to the places consecrated to the exer- 
cise of its worship. 



488 CONSTITUTIONOF THE 

12. All heads of families, and independent persons, of 
both sexes, who have attained the age of fourteen years, are 
required to enroll themselves in one of these religious 
societies, which they may freely quit to enter into another. 

Each society requires from its members an annual con- 
tribution for the supportof its ministers and property : this 
contribution, however, shall never exceed the sum stipu- 
lated by law. 

13. Each religious society remains irrevocably in pos- 
session of what it possessed at the commencement of this 
century. 

14. Exclusive civil rights cannot be attached to any one 
religious society in particular. 

The doctors, ministers, and ecclesiastical servants of the 
reformed religion, heretofore dominant, who being in the 
enjoyment of salaries or pensions on the public treasury, 
are now in the exercise of their functions, shall continue to 
enjoy the said pay and pensions, until the complete execu- 
tion of the regulations laid down in Art. 12. 

15. All laws and regulations which, from the commence- 
ment of the year 1795, have derogated from the value of 
property or possessions legally acquired, are subject to 
revision. 

Whoever has been injured by a law of this kind, is at 
liberty to address himself to the regency of state, which shall 
propose to the legislative body either the repeal of the law, 
its revision, or a just and suitable indemnity, as the exi- 
gency of the case may require. 

16. The feudal system is abolished : all fiefs are declared 
allodial. The law provides an indemnity for seignorial 
proprietors. 

17. The Batavian people wills that the national guard, 
established for the security of liberty and national inde- 
pendence, shall be encouraged by all suitable means. 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 489 

18. No citizen forming part of this guard is obliged to 
serve out of the territory of the republic. 

He is not obliged to serve out of his department, without 
a decree of the legislative body, and only in case of an 
attack from an enemy. 

The active service of the national guard in each depart- 
ment is definitively determined by law. 

19. The same species of money shall be coined and made 
current throughout the whole republic, on the footing and 
title to be established by law. 

The weights and measures already known in the re- 
public shall be subjected to uniform regulations. 

The law shall determine the time and mode of carrying 
this article into execution. 

20. The Batavian republic is one and indivisible. 

21. Its European territory remains divided into eight 
departments, of which the limits shall be those of the old 
provinces, saving the following modifications. 

The country of Drenthe shall remain united to the former 
province of Overyssel, and Dutch Brabant shall form the 
eighth department. The Ommelands shall form part of 
Friesland ; Wedde and West Woldingerland, of Groningen ; 
Ysselstein, of Holland; Viane, of Utrecht; Kuilenburgh 
Buren, of Guelderland. 

The law shall finally determine'to what department those 
territories shall belong, which are already, or shall be here- 
after annexed to the territory of the republic. 

22. Each department shall be divided into a number of 
districts in proportion to its extent. The election of the 
members of the departmental administrations shall take 
place according to this division. 

23. The present division into primary assemblies is 
maintained for the election of the members of the legisla- 
tive body. 

24. To constitute an active citizen, it is necessarv for a 



490 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

person; 1st. To be enrolled on the national register of the 
place of his domicil ; 2d. To be 21 years of age complete, 
or to form part of the national guard ; 3d. To have con- 
stantly resided in the republic during the preceding year, 
if a native of the country, and during the last six years, if 
a foreigner; 4th. To be able to read and write the Dutch 
language, a regulation, however, which shall not extend to 
citizens enrolled before the 23d April, 1799 ; 5th. To have 
made the following declaration : N I promise fidelity to the 
constitution, and submission to the law." 

25. The following are excluded from the right of voting: 
1st. Those who are in the service of, or receive any pen- 
sion from, a foreign power ; 2d. Servants at wages attached 
to the service of the person, and household ; 3d. Such as 
are maintained in houses of charity, asylums for orphans and 
deaconries; 4th. Such as, during the last six months, have 
been supported from the poor chest ; 5th. Those who are 
under the care of guardians on account of misconduct, dis- 
sipation, or derangement of the brain ; 6th. Bankrupts, 
with such as have made an assignmentof their property, so 
long as their creditors remain unpaid ; 7th. Those who are 
in a state of accusation, or by a judicial sentence, are 
acknowledged infamous. 

26. The law shall determine the manner in which the 
right of suffrage is to be exercised, and the property requi- 
site for an elector. 

27. Ministers of every religion are declared ineligible to 
functions depending on the government. 

28. Military persons cannot exercise the right of suffrage 
except in the place of their domicil, and on condition that 
this is distinct from that in which they are in garrison. 

Of the Government. 

29. The government is confided to a regency of state 
composed of twelve members. These are chosen from 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 491 

among such active citizens as have been born within the 
republic, are thirty years of age, have resided in the re- 
public during the last six years, and are not related, or 
allied to any other member of the regency within the fourth 
degree. The said members enjoy an annual pay of 10,000 
florins. 

30. For this time, seven of its members are immediately 
nominated by the executive directory now in being : these 
seven proceed to the choice of five others ; and the twelve 
regents thus appointed elect one of their own number for a 
president, who holds his office for three months. 

If within six months after the installation of the regency 
of state, one or more vacancies occur, the remaining mem- 
bers shall proceed, within eight days, to fill up the said 
vacancy. 

31. The regency of state frames the rules of order to be 
observed in its sittings. It is divided into as many com- 
missions as the different branches of the administration 
render necessary. These commissions are employed in the 
despatch and particular examination of the affairs which 
are referred to them by the council. 

32. To the regency of state is attached, besides a secre- 
tary-general, a secretary of state, holding the department 
of foreign affairs ; 

Three other secretaries of state, holding the departments 
of the marine, war, and the interior; or if thought more 
convenient, in place of the three last, three councils, each 
composed of three members ; 

Finally, a council of finance, composed of three members, 
and a treasurer-general. 

33. The secretaries of state, or the councils which take 
their place, are charged with administering the affairs of 
their office, as well as with the execution of the orders 
which are transmitted to them by the regency, conformably 
to their instructions, and on their responsibility. 



492 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

They are appointed by the regency of state from a triple 
list, drawn up by the section of the council of regency, 
attached to the department to which they belong. 

34. One member of the regency of state goes out every 
year. This shall take place, for the first time, on the 1st of 
November, 1802, according to the order determined by lot 
for the annual exit of all the members. 

To fill up the vacant places, the departments shall pro- 
ceed in the order hereafter prescribed, to the appointment 
of four persons, of whom the list is sent to the regency. 
This body reduces the number to two, and from these the 
legislative body finally chooses one. 

In order that the whole nation may concur in the election 
of the regency of state, the departmental administrations, 
in case of vacancy, are permitted to proceed to the nomina- 
tion of its members, in the following order : — 

1st. The administration of Holland, 2d. of Zealand, 3d. 
of Friesland, 4th. of Brabant, 5th. of Holland, 6th. of 
Groningen, 7th. of Utrecht, 8th. of Overyssel, 9th. of 
Guelderland, 10th. of Holland, 11th. of Zealand, 12th. of 
Guelderland. Provided, nevertheless, that at the 11th and 
12th turns, two other departments concur in the nomina- 
tion, as 1st. those of Zealand and Guelderland, 2d. of 
Friesland and Overyssel, 3d. of Brabant and Utrecht, 4th. 
of Groningen and Holland, and so on. 

Ail the places which fall vacant in the interval between 
one nomination and another, if they have been already once 
filled up according to the order above laid down, shall be 
anew filled up by the same departments which presented 
the members going out ; but if the vacancy takes place 
directly after the first nominations, and before it has been 
practicable to carry the preceding regulations into effect, 
the legislative body shall proceed to fill up the vacancy from 
a triple list presented by the regency of state. 

In both cases, the newly-elected persons shall take their 



BAVARIAN REPUBLIC. 493 

seat for the time those would have had to occupy it, whom 
they replace. 

35. The regency of state appoints the ministers and 
agents to foreign powers, and all the officers of land and sea. 

36. The appointments to public administrative functions, 
save the exceptions laid down by the constitution, are made 
with the concurrence of the colleges, or other constituted 
authorities. 

The said colleges present a triple list to the regency of 
state, which from thence selects whom it thinks proper. 
The regency, nevertheless, has a right to reject this list, 
and to demand that a new one be presented to it. 

As for subaltern employments, they are filled up by the 
colleges or other constituted authorities to which they are 
subordinate ; but the rules for fixing their pay are subject 
to the approbation of the regency of state. 

37. The regency has the privilege of first proposing all 
laws : It promulgates the said laws after they have received 
the sanction of the legislative body. 

38. It cannot exercise, in any case whatever, any legis- 
lative power, neither can it dispense with the execution of 
any law. 

39. It concludes treaties of peace, alliance and commerce, 
subject to the ratification of the legislative body. 

It can contract, without having recourse to this ratifica- 
tion, secret articles, provided they contain nothing contrary 
to the open articles, to subsisting treaties, and that they do 
not relate to the cession of any part whatever of the terri- 
tory of the republic. 

War cannot be declared without a decree of the legisla- 
tive body. 

40. The regency of state has the management of the 
national finances : it regulates the pay of the national 
functionaries, and fixes the annual amount of the public 
expenses. It presents a list thereof to the legislative body, 
to which exclusively belongs the right of authorizing them. 



494 CONSTITUTION OV THE 

If the ordinary revenues are insufficient to meet the ordi- 
nary expenses, the regency of state points out to the legis- 
lative body what new impositions it thinks ought to be 
established. 

As for extraordinary expenses, the regency proposes the 
establishment, either of an extraordinary tax, or of a vo- 
luntary or forced loan ; taking care, in this case, to annex 
to the proposition a statement of the funds necessary for 
meeting the payment of the interest, as well as for the 
sinking or redemption of the capital borrowed. 

41. The regency of state submits the rules for granting 
pensions, to the approbation of the legislative body. 

42. It disposes of the fleets and armies of the republic. 
The chief command can never be confided to a member of 
the regency, 

43. It has the superintendency of the police throughout 
the whole extent of the republic. That of the place of its 
residence, as well as the appointment to all employments 
which may depend thereon, is exclusively assigned to it. 

44. A council of marine, composed of seven persons, is 
in the appointment of the regency of state, to which it is 
responsible for its conduct. It is charged with administer- 
ing and conducting all affairs relating to the levy of taxes 
on the waters, or what is termed convoys and licenses; with 
deciding all affairs relating to armed vessels or cruisers, 
as well as with pronouncing judgment on prizes. 

All affairs relating to pilotage are equally under its cog- 
nizance. 

The council conforms itself to the rules enacted by the 
regency of state, and approved by the legislative body. 

45. The regency of state in like manner is charged with 
promoting the progress of the arts, sciences, education, 
agriculture, and manufactures, and shall institute such an 
establishment as it shall deem best calculated to accom- 
plish this end. 

46. A chamber of accounts is established composed of 



BATAVUN REPUBLIC. 495 

nine members, in the nomination of the legislative body. 
It is charged with annually receiving and liquidating the 
accounts of the different departments of the state, with 
causing all the national accountants to deliver in good and 
true statements of their various expenses. 

In its administration, it is dependent on the instructions 
which it receives from the regency of state, and which have 
been approved of by the legislative body. 

One of its members goes out annually: the order in 
which they retire is determined by lot. 

When a vacancy occurs, the chamber presents a list of 
five persons to the regency of state ; the regency reduces 
this number to three, and from these the legislative body 
finally chooses one. 

47. Two councils of particular administration are esta- 
blished for the commerce and possessions of the republic in 
the two Indies. 

That of the East Indies is composed of nine members ; 
that of the West Indies of five. They are both subordinate 
to the regency of state. 

They are charged with the particular administration of 
the revenues arising from the possessions within their 
respective jurisdictions : if these revenues do not cover the 
expense, the deficiency is made up from the national trea- 
sury, in which, on the other hand, they deposit the excess, 
when there is any. 

. They superintend the administration of justice and police 
in the said possessions, and make the necessary disposi- 
tions for their defence, when this has not been directly pro- 
vided for by the regency. 

They are responsible to the regency, and are bound to 
present to it, every year, an account of their receipts and 
expenses, supported by all the documents and pieces in 
proof of the same. 

48. The internal administration of, and the laws relating 
to the colonies, are fixed by their respective charters. 



496 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

They shall remain united to the republic under one and 
the same general government: all particular grants are 
abolished. 

Of the Legislative Power. 

49. The legislative body is composed of thirty-five mem- 
bers appointed, for the first time, by the government, and 
within eight days after its installation. 

50. Twelve amongst them chosen by a majority of votes, 
for the period of one ordinary or extraordinary session, 
discuss the laws proposed. The discussion of all projects 
presented in the first week of an ordinary session must be 
terminated, at the latest, the last day of the session, that 
is, on the 30th of May or the 15th of December. 

When extraordinary convocations take place, the propo. 
sitions which have given rise to the same, must be passed 
before the separation of the legislative body, and at the 
latest, within a month. 

The members of the legislative body declare by yes or no 
their sentiments on the projects which are presented to 
them. These projects may be withdrawn at any period of 
the discussion. 

51. If the project is rejected, the regency of state is at 
liberty to appoint three of its members to explain and defend, 
before the legislative body, its motives for proposing the 
same : if the legislative body persist in rejecting it, the pro- 
ject cannot be again brought forward. 

52. In this case, the motives for the refusal of the legis- 
lative body must be assigned ; and the regency preserves 
the right of presenting another project. 

53. To the legislative body alone belongs the right of dis- 
pensing with the observance of laws, and granting letters 
of remission and pardon, after having taken the opinion of 
the national high court. 

54. The legislative body ordinarily meets twice a year; 
viz., from the 15th of April to the 1st of June, and from 
the 15th of October to the 15th of December. On extra- 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC 497 

ordinary occasions it assembles as often as it thinks fit, or 
when called together by the government. 

It holds its sittings in the same place as the regency of 
state. It is renewed by thirds the first of June in every 
year; and the first renewal shall take place in 1802. 

The pay of the members of the legislative body is fixed 
at 4000 florins. 

To be a member of the legislative body, it is necessary 
to be at least thirty years of age, and to possess the qua- 
lifications required by Article 29, for members of the 
government. 

55. The law determines the manner in which the election, 
and replacing of its members, take place. 

Of the Finances. 

56. The debts and obligations contracted, not only by 
the generality, and in its name, but also in the name of the 
different provinces, of the three quarters of Guelderland, 
of the country of Drenthe, of Dutch Brabant, and of the 
East India company, are declared national debts and obli- 
gations. 

Contracts of rents, obligations, and all other obligatory 
acts, shall be exchanged, with the least delay possible, for 
national obligations, without any deduction whatever of 
capital or interest. 

57. The taxes at present in force are maintained on the 
same footing, in each of the late provinces. Nevertheless, 
the laws and ordinances relative to the same shall be sub- 
ject to revision, and the taxes be liable to be abolished, and 
replaced by o!,her impositions, equally general. 

With regard to such as are established for defraying- 
departmental expenses, the departmental administrations 
shall have the power of modifying or extending them, as 
the necessities of their respective governments may require. 

Vol. I. 2 K 



498 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

58. The law determines such of the taxes now in force 
as are to be pledged for the payment of the general ex- 
penses of the government of the republic, and those which 
are to be left to the departmental administrations for de- 
fraying the particular expenses of each department. 

When these taxes are insufficient, each departmental ad- 
ministration has a right co lay additional ones, and this in 
such manner as it may conceive the most suitable to the 
interests of the department, provided, however, that the 
legislative body, on the motion of the regency of state, 
shall have sanctioned the same. 

The sanction can only be refused when,£rom their nature 
or mode of collection, the levying of the said taxes might 
prove prejudicial to the recovery of the general taxes, or 
when they are contrary to the regulations laid down in 
Art. 66. 

When the fixed revenues of the national treasury prove 
insufficient for the usual annual payments, the law, con- 
formably to Art. 40, authorizes the assessment of new 
imposts on all the inhabitants of the republic, in proportion 
to their incomes. 

59. Every year, on or before the 1st of November, the 
regency of state presents to the legislative body an estimate 
of expenses for the following year, and the means it has of 
meeting them. 

This estimate does not include the sums annually granted 
for secret expenses. These are made the subject of se- 
parate petitions to the legislative body, which, after having 
deliberated four weeks in a secret committee, and obtained 
from the regency all necessary explanations, decrees on 
the same, on or before the 15th of December at the 
latest. 

60. The extraordinary petitions presented to the legisla- 
tive body may, in like manner, be the subject of its secret 



batavian republic. 



499 



deliberations for a period not exceeding fifteen days, after 
which time, the discussions are rendered public, and must 
be terminated within the space of eight days. 

61. The regency, with the estimate mentioned in Art. 59, 
presents to the legislative body that of all the receipts and 
expenses of the national treasury during the preceding 
year. 

It adds thereto a declaration, subscribed by all its mem- 
bers, that it has employed the money granted for secret ex- 
penses, to the greatest advantage of the republic. 

Of the Departmental Administrations. 

62. Each departmental administration is composed, in 
proportion to the population of the department, of from 
seven to fifteen persons, domiciled in the department, and 
subject to the same conditions, as to eligibility, as the mem- 
bers of the legislative body. 

The law, conformably to Art. 22, determines the mode 
of electing them, and the order in which they are to go out 
of office. 

Until the said law be carried into execution, the admini- 
strations shall remain on their present footing. 

63. The regency of state appoints a commission in every 
department, for the purpose of drawing up a regulation for 
the government of the central administration, according to 
the tenor of the preceding article. 

These regulations, within two months after the said 
commissions are installed, are sent to the regency, which 
carefully examines whether they contain any thing contrary 
to the constitution, or to the interest of each department, 
in particular. 

They are also subject to the approbation of the active 
citizens of the respective departments. 

64. The regency decides all contests between the members 

2 K 2 



500 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

of different departments, as well as between those of the 
same department, and between them and the communes. 

65. Each department regulates the expenses of its inter- 
nal administration, rates the charges attending the admi- 
nistration of justice and police, so far as the same ought 
not to be defrayed from the particular treasuries of the com- 
munes, and fixes the amount necessary for keeping in re- 
pair the public buildings, dikes, sluices, &c. 

In the case of melancholy and unforeseen accidents it 
gives notice thereof to the regency of -state, and demands 
that the necessary assistance be afforded from the national 
treasury. 

66. The departmental administrations present every 
year to the government a statement of the ordinary wants 
of their department, and at the same time point out such 
of the existing taxes as ought to be paid into the depart- 
mental treasury, and be considered for the future as depart- 
mental taxes. 

If the existing taxes are considered insufficient, the de- 
partmental administrations propose new ones, conformably 
to Art. 58 ; provided that they take care not to levy them 
on articles of import and export between the depart- 
ments, neither to impose on the productions of the soil or 
industry of another department, a heavier tax than that 
imposed in this same department. 

67. For contributing to extraordinary expenses, and in 
cases of urgency, the departmental administrations, with 
the approbation of the government, and under the sanction 
of the legislative body, may contract loans, mortgaging at 
the same time particular funds for the extinction of the debt, 
and payment of the interest. 

68. To the departmental administrations is assigned the 
appointment of the tribunals, of the public functionaries, 
and other subaltern officers necessary to the administration 
of their departments. 



BATAYIAN REPUBLIC. 501 

They look to the repairs of the dikes, canals, sluices, 
roads, fyc, of which the maintenance is chargeable to the 
communes, to colleges, or individuals. 

69. They take care that the works by them authorized 
(or such as are authorized by the colleges especially charged 
with their management,) for the keeping in due repair the 
canals, streams, and mouths of rivers, do not prove preju- 
dicial to the inhabitants of other departments, following in 
this respect the instructions of the government, and com- 
municating to it the plans which they have determined 
upon. 

70. The departmental administrations, by every means in 
their power, shall ensure execution to the orders of the 
government, whether direct or indirect, and are responsible 
for the same. 

71. They have the direction of every thing which concerns 
the internal police of their department, its economy and 
finances ; they may make regulations and issue ordinances 
relative to the same ; provided always that such regulations 
are not contrary to the tenor of the general laws. 

They grant, when the exigency of the case requires it, 
letters of venia cetatis to minors. 

72. They take care that the communal administrations, 
of which mention will be hereafter made, be promptly 
established, and in a firm and suitable manner. 

Of the Communal Administrations. 

73. No new division of departments or arrondissements 
into communes is authorized except with the consent, and 
at the instance, of those concerned. 

Each town, district, or village, has its own communal 
administration, established on the plan which it has itself 
presented for the approbation of the departmental admi- 
nistration, provided it be founded on the principles of 
popular and periodical election. 



502 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

74. Each commune attends to its domestic affairs, and 
makes all the local arrangements necessary to its welfare. 

75. It cannot establish local taxes, except in concert with 
the deputies of the commune, who are chosen according 
to a regulation approved of by the departmental adminis- 
tration. 

These taxes must be sanctioned by the departmental 
administration, and cannot be levied on articles of transit, 
exportation or importation, neither on the productions of 
the soil or industry of other towns and villages, beyond the 
rate paid by articles of the same kind in the place itself 
where the local tax is collected. 

76. The members of municipalities cannot, under any 
pretence, be summoned, suspended, or dismissed, by a de- 
partmental administration. 

On charges of negligence in the exercise of their func- 
tions, they are tried by the national high court 

Of the Judicial Power, 

77. The judicial power is exercised by judges established 
by the constitution, or in conformity with its principles. 

78. The judges and public accusers of the same tribunal, 
at the period of their entrance into office, cannot be related 
or allied to each other within the third degree. 

No one can exercise the functions of a judge, if he is not 
an active citizen and full twenty-five years of age. 

79. All judges, when required, are obliged to assist each 
other in the execution of their respective judgments and 
sentences, as well as to render justice to demands known 
under the name of letters requisitorial. 

In case of any difference arising on the subject, the court 
of departmental justice decides, provided the parties are 
all within its jurisdiction ; or if otherwise, the business is 
brought before the national high court. 

80. In criminal affairs, the final sentence pronounce 



BATAVUN REPUBLIC, 



503 



against an accused person is null and void, if the offence is 
not expressed therein. 

All sentences and decrees are pronounced with open 
doors. Confiscation of property can never take place. 
Justice, throughout the republic, is administered in the 
name of the Batavian people. 

81. The tribunals of the ci-devant provinces preserve the 
jurisdictions they at present enjoy. 

The departments in which there are no courts of justice 
are at liberty to establish them ; but the mode of insti- 
tuting the same must be laid before the government, and be 
sanctioned by the legislative body. 

82. The plan for organizing the inferior tribunals in the 
different communes, is communicated by the communal ad- 
ministrations to those of their respective departments ; the 
latter taking care that such tribunals, as far as possible, 
are established on the same footing. 

83. The forms of procedure, as well before the high 
court, as before the military tribunal, (of which mention will 
be here after made,) the maritimecouncil, the departmen- 
tal courts of justice, and other inferior tribunals, are regu- 
lated by law. 

84. The government, after having taken the opinion of 
the high courts of justice, and with the least delay possible, 
shall present for the sanction of the legislative body, a code 
of civil and criminal laws. 

85. If the introduction of this code should require a fresh 
organization of the judicial power, the motion for it, sup- 
ported by such considerations as shall be addressed by the 
departmental administrations on the subject, shall be free 
to emanate from the regency of state or the legislative 
body. 

86. Military persons of all ranks, and seamen, are sub- 
ject to the civil jurisdiction only in civil affairs, and for 
common offences. 



504 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

87. A supreme military tribunal is established for taking 
cognizance of, and trying persons in the land and naval 
forces of the state, on the accusation of two fiscal attor- 
neys. 

It is composed of an equal number of marine officers, 
land officers, and jurisconsults. The law lays down the 
rules and ordinances for constituting them, and according 
to which they are to pronounce judgment. 

The members of this tribunal, and the fiscal attorneys, 
are appointed by the government. 

88. The law lays down the mode of procedure in cases 
where fraud or contravention is practised on the impost 
laws. 

Of the National* r art of Justice. 

89. This court is composed of nine members, who, im- 
mediately after the installation of the legislative body, 
shall be appointed and installed by a majority of votes, 
by five members of the legislative body, chosen by it and 
be the president, and by five members of the regency, alike 
deputed for this purpose. 

90. The members of the national court of justice hold 
their office for life. They must possess all the quali- 
fications required by Art. 29 for members of the regency of 
state. In case of vacancy they form a list of two persons, 
to whom the regency adds two others. From these four 
persons the legislative body selects one. 

91. The national high court of justice takes cognizance 
of all offences committed by members of the legislative 
body, of the regency of state, and other public functiona- 
ries in the exercise of their functions, even after they have 
ceased to exercise the same ; in one word, of all actions 
which, during their administration, might have rendered 
them criminal, 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 505 

92. It pronounces judgment in all causes in which the 
republic is directly interested as a party. 

93. It exercises a special superintendency over the courts 
of justice and tribunals of the Batavian republic. 

It can suspend or annul their sentences and proceedings 
when contrary to the laws for the administration of justice, 
or to the prescribed forms. If there are any grounds for 
accusation, it may authorize the public accuser to assert the 
rights of the people : it cannot, however, take cognizance 
of the merits of causes. 

94. Appeals are made to this court from all judgments 
rendered in causes which have been brought, in the first 
instance, before the departmental courts of justice; that 
course, in such cases, being followed, which is laid down 
in the law relative to the general form of proceedings. 

95. It can never pronounce a final sentence, except at 
least seven of its members are present. 

96. It grants delay of payment, letters importing secu- 
rity of person, and, in general, dispensations of every 
kind, conformably to the authority which it receives for 
this purpose from the legislative body ; dispensations of age 
or letters of venia eetatis excepted, which by Article 71 are 
attributed to the departmental administrations. 

97. It has the power of revising its sentences, save in 
criminal cases where the demands of the public accuser 
have not been admitted. 

. The assistant revisers are taken from the departmental 
courts of justice. The law determines in w T hat cases revi- 
sion is permitted, the number of assistant revisers, and the 
general order to be observed in the proceedings. 

98. The public accuser or attorney-general attached to 
the national court of justice, as well as the attorneys-gene- 
ral attached to the departmental courts of justice, are 
chosen by the regency of state from a list of three persons 



506 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

drawn up by the national court of justice and the depart- 
mental administrations respectively. 

99. Besides the ordinary public accuser, three national 
attorneys or syndics are attached to the high court : they 
are appointed for the first time in the manner prescribed 
in art. 89, for the election of the members of the high 
court of justice : they must be doctors in law, and possess, 
moreover, all the qualifications required by Art. 29. 

These three persons form the national syndicate. When 
a vacancy occurs, the national court of justice presents a 
list of three persons, and from this list the legislative body 
selects the new syndic. 

The national syndicate watches over the colleges and 
magistracies, the national, departmental, and other inferior 
constituted authorities, the tribunals and public func- 
tionaries of every description. 

It takes care that nothing is practised contrary to the 
constitution and established laws. With the view of gain- 
ing the necessary information it receives all the complaints 
that are addressed to it on this subject. If it finds room 
for accusation, it brings the cause before the national court 
of justice: if the accused person is acquitted, the sentence 
of this court is without appeal ; but if condemned, and the 
convicted party desire it, the cause is again tried by the 
national court of justice, increased by four members drawn 
from such courts of justice as the condemned party shall 
himself choose to select. 

The accused party, both in the first instance, and in case 
of revision, may choose attorneys to defend his cause. The 
power and authority of an accused person are suspended 
from the very moment that the suit is instituted against him, 
except the charge is directed against a member of the legis- 
lative body or regency of state. 

100. He who obeys the orders of an accused party, whe- 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 507 

ther a magistrate, college or public functionary, with the 
exception of the two bodies above mentioned, renders him- 
self guilty of high treason. 

101. The syndicate does not exercise any power: it can- 
not cause any person to be arrested, unless authorized by 
the national court of justice ; those cases only excepted 
where an authority, public functionary, individual or body 
of individuals, are apprehended in the fact, and at the very 
moment when ready to carry into execution a conspiracy 
framed by them against the safety of the state or against 
the constitution. 

But, in this case, the motives for the arrest must be im- 
mediately communicated to the national court of justice, 
which takes cognizance of it, and either confirms the arrest 
or dismisses the accused. 

The dispositions contained in the present article are not 
applicable to the legislative body, no more than to the 
regency of state. 

102. The syndicate may accuse its own members. 

103. The national court of justice has a right of super- 
intendency over the syndicate and its members ; and in case 
of misdemeanour, extortion, or any other offence in the 
exercise of their trust, as the producing false instruments, 
bribing witnesses, altering or neglecting any complaint 
framed, or means of defence, fyc, the said national court of 
justice forms a tribunal of nine members chosen from the 
different departmental courts of justice, before which the 
cause is brought, at the instance of the court, and by 
attorneys appointed by it for this purpose. 

104. The national court of justice resides in the same 
place as the regency of state. 

105. In case of any doubt or difference arising as to the 
real sense of any article of the constitutional act, the college 
which is interested therein gives notice to the national 
court of justice : if this court is of opinion that the letter 



508 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

of the constitution is not perfectly clear, it writes to the 
legislative body, as well as to the regency of state. These 
two bodies each appoint nine members, who, united to the 
court of justice itself, compose an assembly of twenty-seven 
persons. The members of this assembly take their seats 
according to seniority. The president of the national court 
presides over it : it is his duty clearly to explain the matter 
in dispute, and to pronounce the decision of the assembly 
according to the majority of votes. 

If the assembly is of opinion that the difficulty cannot be 
removed by it, the proposition is referred, by the regency of 
state, to the decision of the active citizens. 

106. As soon as the Batavian people shall have accepted 
the present constitution, and it shall have been proclaimed, 
the executive directory shall appoint seven members of the 
regency of state, and within a fortnight, and on a day ap- 
pointed, shall convoke them in the place of its residence. 
These shall immediately choose their colleagues, and shall 
notify the result of their choice to the executive directory, 
in order that the said directory may convoke them with the 
least delay possible, and that the regency of state may be 
forthwith installed. 

When the regency is formed, it must give notice thereof 
to the representative body, and to the executive directory. 
These two colleges shall be dissolved immediately after they 
have received this notification. 

Oath of the Members of the legislative Body. 

I solemnly promise that as a member of the legislative 
body, and in conformity with the constitutional act, I will 
assist With all my power in supporting the interests of the 
Batavian people, and in maintaining their rights, and that 
I will sincerely and zealously acquit myself of all the duties 
which under this relation are imposed upon me, without 
ever departing therefrom for any consideration whatever, 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 509 

favour or disgrace, promise or present, or any other thing : 
I promise also that I will not in any manner concur, or take 
any part in any resolution or project which might tend to 
introduce hereditary dignities or swerve from the principles 
of a popular representative government. 

Oath of the Members of the Regency of State. 

I solemnly promise that as a member of the regency of 
state, and in conformity with the constitution, and with the 
authority which has been intrusted to me, I will assist with 
all my power in supporting the interests of the Batavian 
people, in defending their rights, their rank and dignity, 
in consolidating, maintaining and assuring the indepen- 
dence of the republic and the liberty of the citizens ; and 
that I will sincerely and zealously acquit myself of all the 
duties which under this relation are imposed upon me, 
without ever departing therefrom for any consideration 
whatever, favour or disgrace, promise or present, or any 
other thing ; and that I will never in any manner assist in 
forming and decreeing any project which might deviate 
from the principles of the constitution, tend to introduce 
hereditary dignities, or be contrary to a popular represen- 
tative government ; and moreover, that if any enterprise of 
this kind come to my knowledge, I will oppose it, and 
strive to prevent it, by all the means which are intrusted 
to me. 






510 CONSTITUTION OF THE 



CONSTITUTION OF 1801 MODIFIED. 



THE EXECUTIVE POWER VESTED IN A GRAND PEN- 

SIONARY. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM 

OF HOLLAND UNDER LOUIS BONAPARTE. 



Such was the constitution of 1801. It governed the 
Batavian republic until 1805, when it was, we will not say 
abolished, but simply modified by a new constitution, so 
that it might be still considered as the basis of the consti- 
tutional system of the republic. Instead, therefore, of 
giving the new act entire, it will be sufficient to present an 
analysis of such of its regulations as modified that of 1801 ; 
and this with the more reason as it continued in force but 
a very short time. 

The new constitution was divided into 87 articles. Those 
from 1 to 9 are devoted to general regulations. In the fol- 
lowing, the republic, as under the constitution of 1801, is 
divided into eight departments : the right of suffrage is made 
subject to the same regulations : the clergy of every pro- 
fession are excluded from public employments: military 
persons are not allowed to vote except in their place of 
domicil, and this cannot be that of their garrison. 

Articles 15 to 37 treat of the legislative body: the su- 
preme power is vested in this assembly, and in the grand 
pensionary, a magistrate created by this constitution. The 
legislative body is composed of nineteen members who hold 
their seats for three years, and are nominated by the de- 
partmental administrations in the following proportion ; 
seven for Holland, one for Zealand, one for Utrecht, and 
two for each of the other departments. 

The deputies must be citizens born in one of the eight 



BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 



ill 



departments, or in a colony of the state; they must be 
more than thirty years of age, must possess the right of 
suffrage, and have resided during the last six years in the 
department which returns them, except in their absence 
from it, they have been employed in the service of the 
republic: no two members can be related to each other 
within the fourth degree. 

In each election the departmental administration nomi- 
nates four persons ; the grand pensionary reduces this 
number to two, and from these the departmental adminis- 
tration finally selects one. The session is opened by the 
pensionary. 

The members vote without previous instructions from 
their departments, and are not accountable to them for their 
conduct. 

The members of the departmental administrations, the 
secretaries of state, the members of the town councils, of 
the finances and courts of justice, cannot sit in the legislative 
body while they preserve their places. 

The assembly discusses only the subjects which are pro- 
posed by the pensionary : it may approve or reject the laws 
proposed, but can make no alteration in them. 

It resolves more especially on taxes, and on pardons 
granted in judicial sentences — a right also which, in the 
absence of the legislative body, is vested in the pensionary; 
but if he has occasion to exercise the said right, he is 
obliged to acquaint the legislative body therewith as soon 
as it meets. 

Two sessions are held every year ; but the pensionary 
may convoke an extraordinary session when he .thinks 
proper. One third of the members are renewed annually: 
their pay is 3000 florins per annum. The members going 
out are re-eligible. 

Articles 38 to 61 relate to the grand pensionary, who is 
charged with the executive power; and it is on this head 



512 CONSTITUTION OF THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 

that the constitution of 1805 chiefly differs from that of 
1801. This magistrate is chosen by a majority of the nine- 
teen members forming the assembly : he holds his office five 
years ; and is always re-eligible : he may at any time resign 
his functions, which are then, until a new appointment 
takes place, discharged by the president of the assembly. 

The pensionary must be a Eatavian citizen, must possess 
the right of suffrage, have been born in Batavia, and have 
resided there during the last six years : he cannot be related 
to his immediate predecessor within the fourth degree: 
absence in the service of the republic is no ground of 
exclusion. 

The pensionary cannot, under any circumstances, exercise 
the legislative power ; he can neither interfere with the 
administration of justice, nor have recourse to legal mea- 
sures, except according to the usual forms of law. 

He appoints the council of state, which he must consult 
on projects of law proposed to the legislative body. 

He appoints the ministers secretaries of state, and in 
general all the public functionaries, except the members of 
the national court of justice. 

All the acts of government are executed in the name of 
their High Mightinesses representing the Batavian people, 
are signed by the pensionary, and countersigned by the 
secretary-general of state. 

The pensionary every year brings forward the budget of 
expenses, and is obliged to furnish the grounds of the same. 

The last twenty-eight articles relate to matters of ad- 
ministration, and prescribe the oath to be taken by each 
member of the legislative body. 

These are the chief articles of the constitution of 1805. 
It was entirely abolished by the treaty of the 24th May, 
1806, concluded between France and the republic, and 
which next occurs in the series of constitutional acts. 



513 



TREATY 

BETWEEN THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC AND THE EMPE- 
ROR OF THE FRENCH, FOR ESTABLISHING 
THE KINGDOM OF HOLLAND. 

May 24, 1S06. 



His imperial and royal majesty Napoleon, emperor of 
the French, and king of Italy, and the assembly of their 
High Mightinesses representing the Batavian republic, 
under the presidency of his excellency the grand pensionary, 
accompanied by the council of state, by the ministers and 
secretaries of state, taking into consideration, 

1st. That from the general disposition of men's minds 
and the actual organization of Europe, a government with- 
out consistency, and without fixed permanency, cannot 
fulfil the object of its institution ; 

2d. That the periodical renewal of the head of the state 
will be always a source of dissension in Holland, and 
abroad a constant subject of agitation and discord among 
the powers, friends or enemies of Holland ; 

3d. That an hereditary government can alone guarantee 
the tranquil possession of all that is dear to the Dutch 
people, the free exercise of their religion, the preservation 
of their laws, their political independence, and civil liberty; 
4th. That their first interest is to secure a powerful pro- 
tection, under the shelter of which they might freely exer- 
cise their industry, and maintain themselves in the posses- 
sion of their territory, commerce and colonies ; 

5th. That France is essentially interested in the happiness 

of the Dutch people, in the prosperity of the state, and 

stability of its institutions, as well in consideration of the 

northern frontiers of the empire, open and unprovided with 

Vol. I. 2L 



514 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



strong places, as in relation to the principles and interests 
of general policy: 

Have named as ministers plenipotentiary: his majesty 
the emperor of the French and king of Italy, M. Charles 
Maurice Talleyrand, grand chamberlain, minister of foreign 
relations, grand cordon of the legion of honour, knight of 
the black and red eagle of Prussia, and of the order of 
Saint Hubert, fyc. 

And his excellency M. the grand chancellor pensionary, 
M.M. Charles Henry Verhuell, vice-admiral and minister 
of the marine of the Batavian republic, decorated with the 
grand eagle of the legion of honour ; Isaac John Alexander 
Gogel, minister of the finances ; John Van Styrum, member 
of the assembly of their high mightinesses ; William VI, 
member of the council of state, and Gerard de Brantzen, 
minister plenipotentiary of the Batavian republic to his 
imperial and royal majesty, decorated with the grand eagle 
of the legion of honour ; who, having exchanged their full 
powers, have agreed as follows : 

Art. 1 . His majesty the emperor of the French and king 
of Italy, as well for himself as for his heirs and successors 
for ever, guarantees to Holland the maintenance of its con- 
stitutional rights, its independence, the integrity of its 
possessions in the two worlds, its political, civil and re- 
ligious liberty, as confirmed by the laws actually in force, 
and the abolition of all privileges relative to taxation. 

2. On the formal demand made by their high mighti- 
nesses representing the Batavian republic, that the prince 
Louis Napoleon be named and crowned hereditary and 
constitutional king of Holland, his majesty assents to their 
wishes, and authorizes the prince Louis Napoleon to accept 
the said crown of Holland, to be possessed by him and his 
natural legitimate male descendants, in the order of primo- 
geniture, and to the perpetual exclusion of women and their 
descendants. 



KINGDOM OF HOLLAND 



515 



In onsequence of this authority, the prince Louis Na- 
poleon shall possess the said crown under the title of king, 
and with all the authority determined by the constitutional 
laws which the emperor Napoleon has guaranteed in the 
preceding article. 

Nevertheless, it is resolved that the crowns of France 
and Holland shall never be united on the same head. 

3. The domain of the crown comprehends : 1st. a palace 
at the Hague, intended for the residence of the royal 
family ; 2d. the palace of Bois ; 3d. the domain of Soestdick ; 
4th. a revenue in real property of 500,000 florins. 

The law of the state assures to the king, moreover, an 
annual sum of 15,000,000 florins, payable monthly. 

4. When the king is a minor, the regency belongs of right 
to the queen ; and in her default, the emperor of the 
French, in his quality of perpetual head of the imperial 
family, appoints the regent of the kingdom. He chooses 
the regent from among the princes of the royal family, and 
in their default, from among the native citizens. 

The king's minority terminates on the full attainment of 
his eighteenth year. 

5. The queen's dowry shall be fixed by her contract of 
marriage. For this time, it is agreed that the said dowry 
shall be fixed at 250,000 florins, to be taken from the do- 
main of the crown. This sum deducted, a moiety of the 
remaining revenues of the crown shall serve to defray the 
expenses of the young king's household, and the other half 
be appropriated to the expenses of the regency. 

6. The king of Holland shall be in perpetuity a grand 
dignitary of the empire, under the title of constable : the 
functions of this dignity, however, shall be free to be per- 
formed, at the discretion of the emperor of the French, by 
a prince vice-constable, should he think proper to create 
such an officer. 

7. The members of the family reigning in Holland, shall 

2L2 



516 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

remain personally subject to the regulations contained in 
the constitutional statute of the 30th March last, consti- 
tuting the law of the imperial family of France. 

8. The charges and employments of the state, except 
such as relate to the personal service of the king's house- 
hold, can never be conferred on any other than natives. 

9. The king's arms shall be the ancient arms of Holland, 
quartered with the imperial eagle of France, and sur- 
mounted by the royal crown. 

10. There shall be immediately concluded between the 
contracting powers a treaty of commerce, in virtue of which 
the Dutch shall be at all times treated in the ports and 
territories of the French empire as the nation, the most 
particularly favoured. His majesty the emperor and king 
engages to use his influence with the Barbary powers for 
gaining the same respect to the Dutch flag, as is paid by 
them to that of his majesty the emperor of the French. 

The ratifications of the present treaty shall be exchanged 
at Paris within the space of ten days. 

Paris, this 24th day of May, 1806. 



PROCLAMATION 
MADE IN HOLLAND, JUNE 9, 1806. 



Louis Napoleon, by the grace of God and the consti- 
tutional laws of the state, King of Holland; to all those 
who these presents shall see, or shall hear read, greeting. 

Be it known by the present proclamation, to all in 
general and to each in particular, that we have accepted, 
and do accept, the crown of Holland, conformably to the 



KINGDOM OP HOLLAND. 517 

wish of the country, to the constitutional laws, and to the 
treaty, mutually ratified, which has been this day presented 
to us by the deputies of the Dutch nation. 

On our accession to the throne, it shall be our first care 
to watch over the interests of our people. We shall always 
be solicitous to give them constant and unremitted proofs 
of our love and attention : we will maintain the rights and 
liberties of our subjects, and unceasingly strive to promote 
their welfare. 

The independence of the kingdom is guaranteed by the 
emperor our brother : the constitutional laws equally 
guarantee to every one his claims on the state, his personal 
freedom, and liberty of conscience. Conformably to this 
declaration, therefore, we have decreed and do decree as 
follows : 

1. The ministers of marine and finance, appointed by 
this day's decree, shall enter on the exercise of their func- 
tions : the other ministers shall continue to discharge 
their respective duties until it be otherwise provided for. 

2. All constituted authorities of whatever description, 
civil or military, shall continue to discharge their respective 
functions until it be otherwise ordered. 

3. The constitutional laws of the state, the treaty con- 
cluded between France and Holland, with the present de- 
cree, shall be immediately, and in the most authentic man- 
ner, made public. 

Given at Paris, this 5th day of June, in the year 1806, 

and of our reign the first. 

(Signed) Louis. 



518 CONSTITUTION OF THE 



CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS. 



§ 1. General Regulations. 

1 . The constitutional laws actually in vigour, particularly 
the constitution of 1805, as well as the civil, political, and 
religious laws at present in force in the Batavian republic, 
and of which the exercise is confirmed by the provisions of 
the treaty concluded the 24th of May, of the present year, 
between His Majesty the emperor of the French, and king 
of Italy, and the Batavian republic, shall be preserved in 
full force, with the exception of such only as shall be 
expressly repealed by the present constitutional act. 

2. The administration of the Dutch colonies is regulated 
by particular laws. The revenues and expenses of the 
colonies shall be considered as forming part of the revenues 
and expenses of the state. 

3. The public debt is hereby guaranteed. 

4. The Dutch language shall continue to be exclusively 
used in all laws, publications, ordinances, judgments, and 
public documents, without exception. 

5. No alteration shall be made in the title or weight of 
the current coin, unless in virtue of a particular law. 

6. The old flag of the State sh?2I 2or.tinije to be used. 

7. The council of state shall be composed of thirteen 
members. The ministers shall have rank, seats, and deli- 
berative voices, in the council of state. 

§ 2. Of Religion. 

1. The king and the law grant equal protection to all the 
modes of religion which are professed in the state. By 
their authority shall be regulated every thing that may be 



KINGDOM OP HOLLAND. 519 

considered necessary for the organization, protection, and 
exercise of all kinds of worship. The whole exercise of 
religion shall in all cases be performed within the walls of 
the churches of the different sects. 

2. The king shall enjoy, in his palace, as well as in every 
other place, where he may fix his residence, the free and 
public exercise of his religion. 

§ 3. Of the King. 

5. The king possesses, exclusively, and without restric- 
tion, the entire exercise of the government, and of all the 
powers necessary to carry the laws into effct, and to make 
hem respected. He nominates to all the places of trust, 
civil and military employments, which under the preceding 
laws, were in the appointment of the grand pensionary. 
He has the entire enjoyment of the pre-eminences and prero- 
gatives heretofore attached to that dignity. The national 
coin shall be stamped with his effigy. Justice is adminis- 
tered in his name. He has the power of pardoning 
offences, and of remitting punishments ordered to be 
inflicted by courts of justice. This power, nevertheless, 
shall be only exercised, after an audience given to the mem- 
bers of the national court at a privy council. 

2. At the king's demise, the guardianship of the minor 
king shall be always confided to the queen mother, and in 
her default, to such person as shall be appointed by the 
emperor of the French. 

3. The regent shall be assisted by a council of native 
citizens, of which the constitution and powers shall be de- 
termined by a special law: the regent shall not be personally 
responsible for the acts of his administration. 

4. The government of the colonies, and all that concerns 
their internal administration, are exclusively vested in the 
king. 

5. The general administration of the kingdom is con- 



520 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



fided to the immediate direction of four ministers appointed 
by the king, namely, a minister for foreign affairs, a 
minister for naval and military affairs, a minister of finance, 
and a minister of the interior. 

§ 4. Of the Law. 

1. The laws of Holland are made with the concurrence of 
the legislative body, composed of the assembly of their 
high mightinesses, and the king. The legislative body 
shall consist of thirty-eight members appointed for five 
years, and in the following proportion ; for the department 
of Holland 17 members, for Guelderland 4, Brabant 4, 
Friesland 3, Zealand 2, Groningen 2, Utrecht 2, Drenthe 
1, Overyssel 3. The number of their high mightinesses 
may be increased by law, in the event of an increase of 
territory. 

2. For this time, in order to appoint the nineteen mem- 
bers, by whom the number of their high mightinesses, 
according to the preceding article, is to be completed, the 
assembly of their high mightinesses shall present to the 
king a list of two candidates for each vacant place. The 
departmental assembly of each department shall also pre- 
sent a double list of candidates. The king shall make his 
election from among the candidates proposed. 

3. The present grand pensionary shall take the title of 
president of their high mightinesses, and in this quality shall 
continue in office for life. His successors shall be appointed 
in the form prescribed by the constitution of 1805*. 

4. The legislative body shall elect a registrar by a ma- 
jority of votes : he cannot be a member of the said body. 

5. The legislative body shall hold two ordinary sessions 

* Art. 39, conceived in these terras : the counsellor pensionary is elected 
by the assembly of their high mightinesses, and by a majority of the votes 
of the nineteen members. He holds his office for five years, and is always 
re-eligible. 



KINGDOM OF HOLLAND. 521 

annually: viz., from the 15th of April to the 1st of June ; 
and from the 15th of November to the 15th of January. 
It may be convoked extraordinarily by the king. On the 
15th of November, one fifth of the members composing 
the legislative body, and being the oldest of the same, 
shall vacate their seats. This shall take place, for the first 
time, on the 16th of November, 1807 ; and in this instance, 
it shall be decided by lot what members are to withdraw. 
The members going out shall be always re-eligible. 

§ 5. Of the Judicial Powers. 

1. The judicial institutions shall be preserved on the 
footing established by the constitution of 1805. 

2. The king, with regard to the judicial power, shall 
exercise all the rights and authority attributed to the grand 
pensionary, by Art. 49, 51, 56, 79, 82, and 87, of the con- 
stitution of the year 1805. 

3. Every thing that relates to the exercise of criminal 
justice in military affairs shall be arranged separately by a 
future law. 



522 



ESTABLISHMENT 
OP THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



The new king of Holland, Louis Napoleon, soon per- 
ceived his brother's intentions to be incompatible with the 
happiness of his subjects. He abdicated the throne, there- 
fore, on the 3d of July, 1810, in favour of his son : but a 
senatus-consultum, dated the 9th of June, following, united 
Holland to the French empire. 

It would be useless to retrace the events which in 1813 
and 1814 dissolved this empire, and detached from France 
the states which had been united to it. The prince of 
Orange was first received as sovereign of Holland ; and 
he published a fundamental law for his dominions. The 
union of the Belgic provinces, and the creation of the king- 
dom of the Netherlands, rendered necessary some altera- 
tions. These were made by a commission appointed for the 
purpose, and the constitution actually in force, was finally 
adopted in 1815. 



REPORT 

PRESENTED TO THE KING BY THE COMMISSION CHARGED WITH RE- 
VISING THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OP THE UNITED NETHERLANDS, 

Sire, 

The commission to whom you assigned the task of 
revising the fundamental law of the United Provinces, and 
of introducing therein the modifications called for by the 
increase of territory, the erection of the Netherlands into a 
kingdom, and the stipulations contained in the treaties of 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 523 

London and Vienna, entered upon their work with all the 
zeal inspired by the importance of its object, and the desire 
of justifying your majesty's confidence. 

You declared, Sire, to the notables assembled in the city 
of Amsterdam, last year, that you accepted the sovereignty 
on the express condition that a fundamental law should 
amply guarantee the liberty of persons, the security of pro- 
perty, in one word, all the civil rights which characterize 
a people really free. 

It is in these words engraven in all hearts by gratitude, 
it is in the manners and habits of the people, in institutions 
proved by the experience of several centuries, and with a 
distrust too well justified by so many ephemeral constitu- 
tions, of speculative theories, that have been sought the 
principles of that first law, which is not a mere abstraction, 
distinguished for more or less ingenuity, but a law adapted 
to the circumstances of Holland, at the commencement of 
the nineteeenth century. 

It has not restored what time had rendered obsolete, but 
has revived every thing which might be beneficially pre- 
served. It is in this spirit that it has re-established the 
provincial states, though under some modifications in their 
system of organization. In their relations with the general 
government, this organization was not always free from me- 
rited censure: these relations have ceased. But the provincial 
states, considered as administrators, had greatly contributed 
to the prosperity of the country, and accordingly, this ad- 
ministration has been restored to them. The fundamental 
law, in the same manner, has restored to the towns and 
rural districts, all the independence compatible with the 
general welfare. It has invested the sovereign authority 
with all the prerogatives necessary to make it respected at 
home and abroad. It has assigned the legislative power 
conjointly to the prince and the states-general elected by 
the provincial states, which are themselves elected by all 



524 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

the inhabitants of the kingdom who have any interest in its 
prosperity. 

In a like system of laws and well-ordered institutions, 
have the members of the commission belonging to the 
southern provinces recognized the bases of their old consti- 
tutions, the principles of their ancient liberty, the rules of 
their ancient independence ; and it has not been difficult, 
Sire, so to modify this law as to render it common to two 
nations, which had been united by ties only severed for the 
common misfortune of themselves and of Europe, and which 
it is alike their wish, and the interest of Europe, to render 
indissoluble. 

Confining ourselves to this task, and taking that law for 
the basis of our work which was conceived with liberal and 
conciliatory views, we have successively examined its ge- 
neral principles and particular dispositions. 

We have endeavoured, Sire, to animate ourselves with 
your sentiments, and to impress on the constitution des- 
tined to govern your fine kingdom, that character of justice 
and general benevolence which shines so conspicuously in 
all your actions and sentiments. 

We do not pretend to have foreseen every thing, nor to 
have regulated every thing. We have left a part to future 
experience, and instead of decisive and peremptory dispo- 
sitions, we have frequently done nothing more than lay the 
foundation-stone, leaving it to your wisdom, enlightened 
by time, and other councils, to establish institutions which 
are rather indicated than fixed, and which will complete, 
alike without unnecessary delay, and without precipitation, 
the edifice of which we have traced the extent and laid the 
foundation. 

In dividing the kingdom into provinces, we have pre- 
served, with respect to the northern provinces, the division 
adopted by the first law, giving to each its ancient limits, 
slightly modified for their common interest. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 



5:25 



The same motives have induced us to act differently with 
regard to the southern provinces, having only changed the 
names of the departments. (Art. 2.) 

A period of twenty years has created between the inha- 
bitants of each department, ties and relations which could 
not be destroyed without violating numerous interests, 
without giving rise to multiplied difficulties, at once embar- 
rassing to the government, and useless and injurious to the 
governed. 

We have placed the provinces of the kingdom in the 
order established before their separation, by the ordinances 
of Charles V. 

The province of Luxemburg, which takes the title of a 
grand duchy, and replaces in your majesty's house, your 
German states, is an augmentation of the highest import- 
ance to the kingdom. 

We have been informed, Sire, of the rights which family 
compacts had given, over the states of Nassau, to your 
youngest son : we have not overlooked the just claims of 
this prince to an indemnity, but we are of opinion that it 
belongs to the states-general to propose, whether by a 
grant of domain, or in any other manner, the measure which 
might best satisfy what equity requires, and the national 
gratitude prescribes. 

We dare, Sire, respectfully to express a wish, that in 
concert with your allies, such regulations might be made, 
as shall prevent under any circumstances, the grand duchy 
of Luxemburg from ceasing to form part of the kingdom. 
This measure, which is to the interest of the state, ap- 
pears to us also to be the interest of Europe. 

All the guarantees which the first fundamental law gave 
to individual liberty and property, have been preserved: 
we have found few things to add thereto. 

Every kind of arbitrary arrest is forbidden. (Art. 168.) 
Should the government, for weighty considerations, arrest 



526 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

an individual, he must be brought before the judge whom 

the law appoints within three days. 

No one can be withdrawn from this judge, under any 

pretence. (Art. 167.) 

The iniquitous penalty of confiscation is abolished. (Art. 
171.) 

Every judgment in civil matters must have the motives 
which determined it, annexed to the same. (Art. 173.) 

In criminal matters, the circumstances of the offence, 
and the law applied by the judge, must be expressed. 
(Art. 172.) 

Both judgments must be pronounced in a public sitting. 
(Art. 174.) 

No one can be deprived of his property, unless the 
public good requires it, and on condition of a just indem- 
nity. (Art. 164.) 

The abode of every subject of the king is inviolable. 
(Art. 170.) 

The right of petition, suitably regulated, is confirmed by 
law. (Art. 161.) 

No privilege with respect to taxation, is tolerated. (Art. 
198.) 

Every subject is admissible to all employments, with- 
out distinction of birth or religious belief. (Art. 11 and 
192.) 

In reserving the first functions of the state to natives 
born of parents settled in the kingdom (Art. 8.), the law 
admits to other offices, both natives of the country, and 
those who are naturalized therein. 

This hospitable land will always afford protection and 
benevolence to those whom liberal laws and a paternal go- 
vernment may induce to settle in it, but the right of voting 
on its greatest interests, and of taking part therein, ought 
to belong to those only who have imbibed with their mo- 
thers' milk the love of their country. 

The liberty of the press shall be subject to no other 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 527 

shackles than the responsibility of the person who writes, 
prints or distributes. (Art. 227.) 

We have placed among the first duties of government 
that of protecting public instruction, in order to diffuse 
amongst all classes the knowledge useful to all, and 
amongst the higher classes, that love of the sciences and 
letters which embellishes life, forms a part of national 
glory, and is not foreign to the prosperity, or security of the 
state. (Art. 226.) 

Few countries in Europe have done so much as our pro- 
vinces for the indigent classes, few have so many establish- 
ments where old age and infirmity find an asylum, and 
the young, gratuitous instruction. The lively interest 
which these monuments of the piety, christian charity 
and benevolence of our fathers, inspire in your majesty's 
bosom, serves for a guide to indicate the duty of our 
kings. (Art. 228.) 

The most precious of all rights, entire liberty of con- 
science, is guaranteed as formally as it can be. (Art. 190.) 

We dare believe, Sire, that these various enactments 
fulfil the condition which you so nobly imposed. 

The towns, the rural communes, and the districts form- 
ing these communes, in their internal government, shall 
enjoy all the independence compatible with the general 
welfare. 

The local authorities, in their respective jurisdictions, 
shall conduct themselves as good fathers of families ; but 
these jurisdictions form a part of the great family, and 
ought not to be invested with a power which might turn to 
its prejudice. (Art. 155.) 

The budgets of these authorities are subject to the ap- 
probation of the provincial states. (Art. 156.) 

The government takes cognizance of the same, and 
makes with regard to them all necessary regulations- 
(Art. 159.) 



528 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

It may suspend and annul all such acts of the local ad- 
ministrations as are contrary to the laws, or tend to pre- 
judice the general interest. (Art. 155.) 

The rural arrondissements shall have their ancient limits, 
those recently adopted, or limits wholly new : they shall 
take their old denomination, that which they at present 
bear, or a new one, according as circumstances and local 
interests might advise. The limits and mode of adminis- 
tration of the arrondissements and communes, as well 
urbane as rural, shall be regulated by decrees enacted by 
the king in council, with the advice of the provincial states, 
of the municipal regency, or of a commission composed of 
notable persons, well versed in the concerns of their district, 
and themselves interested in its welfare (Arts. 132 and 154). 

We have reminded your majesty of all the good which 
has accrued to this country from the administration of the 
provincial states ; and this, henceforward disengaged from 
all participation in the government, will be still more use- 
ful: regretted at the same time in the northern and 
southern provinces, in which numerous institutions, pub- 
lic works of great importance, and a constantly increasing 
prosperity, attested their beneficial influence : preferred to 
every other kind of administration by very enlightened ad- 
ministrators in a country of which all the provinces did 
not enjoy a similar government, it will prove to your 
majesty's crown an enlightened agent, so much the more 
proper to make the laws esteemed and respected, as it will 
inspire more esteem and confidence. Those fatal maxims, 
Sire, are far from your heart, which separate the interests 
of the prince from those of his people, and overlook the 
strength and happiness which result from their constant 
and intimate union. 

The provincial states will bear their own wants, and the 
wishes of your subjects, to the foot of the throne. (Art. 151.) 

Charged with every thing that concerns the internal eco- 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 529 

nomy of the province, they frame, subject to the king's 
approbation, the letters, ordinances, and regulations, which 
they think necessary. (Art. 146.) 

They share, according to fixed rules, the administration 
of the waters, bridges and causeways, with a special direc- 
tion, which received from the first constitutional law, on 
account of its importance, a constitutional character that 
we have preserved to it. (Arts. 215, 225.) 

No branch of provincial administration ought to be 
foreign to the states. 

But as it is of importance that the number of members 
composing the said states should be somewhat considerable, 
they cannot be constantly in session. To exercise, there- 
fore, that part of their authority which imposes duties at 
every hour, and requires attention at all moments, they 
appoint permanent deputations formed of their own mem- 
bers, and obliged to render an account to the states of their 
conduct. (Art. 153.) 

The states and deputations are under the presidency of a 
commission appointed by the king, who watches over the 
interests of the province and of the government, as well as 
over the execution of the laws. (Art. 137.) 

Through him the supreme chief of the administration 
will be regularly informed of every thing worthy of his 
attention : he will learn from him the motives for the 
regulations of which the object might be mistaken. This 
commissioner is intended as a useful medium between the 
king's ministers and the provincial states. 

The first fundamental law did not determine the compo- 
sition of the states : this has been since done by regulations 
made in every province, which have received the sanction 
of his majesty. These regulations, while they call to mind 
the ancient institutions of Holland, contain nothing con- 
trary to those of Belgium. 

We have thought it necessary to insert the element of 
Vol. I. 2 M 



530 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

this composition in the fundamental law of the kingdom. 
(Art. 129.) The nobility, who maybe formed or not into 
equestrian bodies, the towns and country districts partici- 
pating in the formation of the states in a proportion which 
may vary, and actually does vary considerably between the 
different provinces (Art. 131.); the principle shall be alone 
fixed and uniform. Every thing else is left to be arranged 
according to local circumstances, and to receive such modi- 
fications as your majesty, instructed by the lessons of ex- 
perience, shall conceive necessary. Happy the nation that 
in giving itself a constitution, has to precipitate nothing, to 
hazard nothing — -that can with confidence leave to its king 
the care of completing, and bringing to perfection, its 
constitutive laws. But we have reflected that after a 
certain time, it would be expedient to put a period to the 
desire of amelioration, that the permanency of what is ac- 
knowledged good, should be preferred to the vague hope of 
perfection. We propose, therefore, at the end of ten 
years, to regard as definitive, and as forming part of the 
fundamental law, the statutes which shall have emanated 
from, or received the sanction of your majesty, relative to 
the right of electing the different colleges, and to the right 
of sitting in the same — -in other words, to the exercise of 
political rights. (Art. 7.) 

To the provincial states, as under the former law, the 
project which we now submit to your majesty, assigns the 
election of the members of the states-general. 

An electoral body composed of members elected, either 
directly or indirectly, by the nation, being already formed, 
it became a superfluous task to organize another: besides, 
this mode partakes of the general system of the constitu- 
tion, which makes all powers emanate one from another, 
going down, without exposure to the inconveniences of 
popular elections, to the classes which only bear a trifling 
part in the burdens of the state, but which, nevertheless, 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 531 

having some interests at stake, have a right to be repre- 
sented. (Arts. 133, 134.) 

The number of deputies to be returned by each province 
to the states-general, could not be determined upon by an 
unanimous vote. 

Several members were of opinion that the basis, at once 
the most just, the most simple, and most sure, was the 
population of each province. Plausible reasons and nu- 
merous examples were not wanting to the support of this 
opinion ; but these reasons have been combated, while 
the justice of applying the examples cited to a union of 
these provinces, has been disputed. It has been urged that 
the colonies which acknowledged the northern provinces 
for their mother country, the importance of their com- 
merce, and the many millions of inhabitants subject to the 
laws of the metropolis, forbade the adoption of this basis ; 
that the only means of perfectly and permanently establish- 
ing an intimate and sincere union between the two countries, 
was to give each an equal share in the national representa- 
tion. The majority ranged themselves on the side of this 
opinion : no change has been made in the actual number of 
deputies returned by each of the northern provinces. That 
of the southern provinces has been settled in an equitable 
manner ; special regard being paid to their population, and 
to the proportional number of deputies by whom they have 
been already represented. (Art. 79.) 

But there is one part of the states-general which we were 
of opinion could not be subjected to a periodical election. 
The great augmentation which the state has received, the 
rank which it has assumed among the nations of Europe, 
the diversity of the elements composing it, the interests 
still more complicated which influence it, imposed upon us 
the duty of not disdaining the lessons of experience. 

We were of opinion that to prevent precipitation in the 
national councils, to oppose in times of difficulty a mound 

2M2 



532 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

to the passions, to surround the throne with a rampart 
against which factions might be broken and dissolved, to 
afford the nation complete security against all usurpation 
on the part of the agents of authority, it was necessary, 
after the example of powerful monarchies, and flourishing 
republics, to divide the representatives of the kingdom into 
two chambers. In effecting this division we. have not 
adopted foreign institutions, which at variance with those 
of our own country, might not readily fall in and harmonize 
with them, but we have been governed by the same spirit 
that led us to adopt the division itself. 

Especially created to prevent what error or passion might 
suggest, this part of the states-general is not invested with 
the right of making propositions to the king, but can 
adopt or reject such only as are laid before it. 

Wisdom and prudence are the qualities chiefly desirable 
in its members ; and the constitutional project accordingly 
requires them to be at least forty years of age. They would 
not afford all the security to be expected from their wisdom, 
if they had not a great interest in the general welfare ; and 
they can, therefore, be only chosen from among persons 
the most distinguished for their services, birth, and fortune. 
(Art. 80.) 

There are few things which men defend more earnestly 
than their personal consideration, the remembrance, and 
the reward of their services. Those who command respect 
by a name which their ancestors have rendered illus- 
trious by serving their country, must be attached to that 
country : the possessors of a great fortune consolidated in 
property lent to the state, or usefully employed in support- 
ing the commerce of the nation, will carefully guard 
against any source of public wealth being obstructed or 
drained. 

They would not be sufficiently independent, if they were 
immoveable: we propose, therefore, to appoint them for 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 533 

life. The right of appointment, as is alike required by the 
spirit of the monarchy, and called for by the interest of the 
nation, is vested in the king. This prerogative will give 
the sovereign an influence over the higher classes of society 
which cannot but prove beneficial to all. 

To reconcile our institutions to the spirit of a mixed 
monarchy, has been the constant rule of our conduct, and 
the invariable guide of our actions. 

The king proposes to the chamber elected by the pro- 
vincial states, the projects of laws which have been dis- 
cussed in his council of state. (Art. 106.) This chamber 
examines the said projects, and when it has passed them, 
sends them to the other chamber, in which a similar exa- 
mination takes place. (Art. 109.) 

The chamber of which the members are appointed for 
life receives and discusses such propositions as the other 
chamber thinks proper to lay before the king, but it can 
never make these propositions itself. (Art. 114, 115.) 

If the chamber adopts the proposition, it transmits it to 
the king, who grants or refuses his sanction. (Art. 116.) 

By not adopting it, this chamber will most commonly 
only spare the king the pain of exercising a necessary and 
indispensable right, but which, too often repeated, might 
tend to lessen that mutual confidence which is no less useful 
to princes than advantageous to nations. 

In all cases the law is the result of the assent of the king 
and of the two chambers. (Art. 119.) 

In most of our provinces, and especially in those of the 
north, a large proportion of the inhabitants, from the 
very nature of the government, were accustomed to take 
part in the management of affairs, and this greatly contri- 
buted to the preservation of that public spirit on which re- 
presentative governments so mainly depend. The govern- 
ment is much more stable, and is more readily obeyed, when 
it makes known to the nation the motives for its resolu- 



534 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

tions, the end of the sacrifices which it imposes, and of the 
efforts which it requires. 

Recent examples prove what vast resources flow from the 
rational and temperate adherence of a whole people to the 
great measures adopted by their government. 

In order to preserve this advantage, it appeared to us 
necessary to render the sittings of the second chamber of 
the states-general, public ; confining however this publicity 
within the bounds necessary to prevent abuses, and avert 
every kind of danger. (Art. 108.) 

In order to explain the motives for the laws proposed, to 
make the views of government known and appreciated, to 
facilitate useful modifications, the heads of the departments 
of general administration shall have admission to both 
chambers of the states-general : but the power thus granted 
them does not confer the right of concurring by their vote 
in the resolutions taken. (Art. 91.) 

We have inserted in the fundamental law certain clauses 
on the forms of deliberating, which may appear nothing 
more than rules of order : they derive the importance we 
attach to them, from the advantage they afford of multi- 
plying and facilitating the relations between the members 
elected by the different provinces, of making known to all, 
the motives which give rise to the propositions brought 
forward; and the considerations, even the most delicate, 
which may lead to their adoption or rejection. (Arts. 107, 
111.) 

It is also with the design of keeping up perfect harmony, 
that we have subjected to certain forms the relations of the 
two chambers with each other, and their intercourse with 
the government. (Arts. 109, 110, 111, 112,115, 116, 117, 
and 118.) 

We have no need, Sire, to assign the motives which have- 
induced us to insert in the fundamental law, the formulas 
of various oaths : Your Majesty reigns over a people who 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 535 

hold the observance of an oath in religious veneration, who 
do not lightly contract it, and who scrupulously adhere to 
what they have sworn to observe. 

With regard to the organization of the judicial power, 
the first fundamental law only laid down certain bases, and 
these bases, while they approach very near the old laws of 
Holland, do not differ essentially from the former legisla- 
tion of Belgium : we have preserved them. 

In civil matters, the administration of justice, intrusted 
to the provincial courts, and civil tribunals, does not leave 
the judges strangers to those under their jurisdiction. 
(Art. 184.) 

A tribunal of appeal for one or more provinces is esta- 
blished. (Art. 182.) 

There is instituted also a high court, superior to these 
tribunals, charged with regulating their acts, and to which 
the lav/, when it organizes the whole system of judicial 
order, shall be free to assign more extensive powers. 
(Art. 180.) 

In criminal matters, the prosecution and punishment of 
offences are confided, within a stated jurisdiction, to the 
magistrates already invested with the cognizance of civil 
causes ; thus tempering, by this two-fold charge, the habits 
of severity contracted by the daily exercise of the right of 
punishing. (Art. 183.) 

A high court martial, composed of military men and 
lawyers, is charged with revising the judgments of the 
councils of war, to which, from many motives, the cogni- 
zance of all offences committed by military persons is as- 
signed. (Art. 188.) 

The same civil and penal code, the same laws on com- 
merce, and on the judicial organization, shall be common 
to the whole kingdom. (Art. 163.) 

The judges are independent, and receive their salaries, 
as fixed by law, from the public treasury : they are ap- 



536 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



pointed by the king, the greater part for life, on the triple 
presentation of the states of the province, or the second 
chamber of the states-general. (Arts. 176, 182, and 186.) 
These, Sire, are the bases of a system of laws, which 
brought to maturity in your council, and submitted to the 
sanction of the states-general, will prove a fresh benefit 
conferred on your people. 

We have in like manner adopted all the principles laid 
down by the first law for the defence of the state. 

A permanent army will be, as it were, the advanced guard 
of the nation. (Art. 204.) 

A militia, wisely organized, will be always ready to fly to 
the defence of their country. (Arts. 206, 212.) 

The nation, wholly comprised in the communal guards, 
will defend in a body, should it prove necessary, its inde- 
pendence and liberty. (Art. 213.) 

Some legal regulations, recently adopted for the militia, 
have appeared to us proper to form part of the fundamental 
law, since they guarantee those services to the state which 
it has a right to claim, and to families fixed invariable 
rules, which at the same time secure them from any arbi- 
trary or inconsiderate abuse of power. 

In speaking of the sacred duty of defending the country, 
we have recalled two celebrated periods of our history, the 
pacification of Ghent, which preceded the unfortunate 
separation of the seventeen provinces, and the treaty of 
union of Utrecht, the foundation of the national indepen- 
dence, and the source of so much glory and prosperity. 
(Art. 203.) 

In future ages, Sire, our posterity will recur, with be- 
coming pride, to those memorable days in which the Dutch 
and Belgians, not yet indeed formed into one nation, but 
already united in the bonds of esteem and fraternity, 
rivalled the bravest on the banks of the Sambre, and on 
the field of Waterloo, under the standard of your gallant 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 537 

son — those days, when worthy of combating under a 
Nassau, they gained, with the esteem of your allies, no 
ordinary share of glory and renown — pledges of the intre- 
pidity with which they will always defend their country, 
their king, and a social compact formed under such happy 
auspices. 

The independence of a nation worthy of being free, 
governed by a family in which prudence and valour are 
inherited from father to son, will be respected by its 
neighbours. 

The princes of your house will exercise with prudence 
the right of making war and peace (Art. 57,) inseparable 
from a weil-constituted monarchy. We have not limited 
this right ; but we cannot withhold from your majesty that 
in treating of the prerogatives of the crown, we have never 
forgotten how much you have at heart the liberty and rights 
of the nation. 

We are of opinion that the project of fundamental law 
gives to the crown all the power that the spirit of monar- 
chical government, the extent of territory, and the neces- 
sity for an active and efficient protection over all rights and 
all interests, can render desirable, and that it traces out in 
a becoming manner the limits which your majesty would 
himself prescribe to the authority of a monarch who, in the 
course of events, might not resemble you. 

The obligations and reciprocal promises of the king 
and his people will be cemented by solemn oaths. (Arts. 52 
and 56.) 

The inauguration of the king will be attended with every 
thing that can give to this great solemnity the character 
which belongs to it. Conformably to ancient usages, it will 
be in a public place, and in the presence of his subjects, 
that the king will receive the oath of fidelity from the 
nation : that he will himself swear to observe the funda- 
mental law, to have at heart the happiness of his people, to 



538 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

mitate the founder of the national independence, and the 
first king of the monarchy. 

The transmission of the crown in this illustrious family, 
as established by the first fundamental law, has received 
the sanction of the great powers in the conventions which 
have given peace to Europe. In introducing the order of 
this transmission into the new project, we have added such 
developments as are calculated to prevent, under all cir- 
cumstances, the doubts and interpretations which have 
sometimes cost nations so dear. (Arts. 13, 29.) 

Several religious communities have been induced to settle 
in Holland by the mildness of its laws, and the protection 
afforded them by the government. This protection will 
remain the same. (Art. 171.) 

The law might here have stopped, and left to Your Ma- 
jesty the care of evincing the interest you take in every 
thing that concerns the ministers of religion : but it ap- 
peared to us that the fundamental law might impose on 
your successors the duty of taking your noble sentiments 
for the rule of their conduct (Art. 193,) and might contain, 
moreover, the assurance that no religious sect should 
ever be at liberty to disturb the freedom of other sects, all 
being equally protected by the laws of the state. (Art. 196.) 

We are of opinion, Sire, that a constitutional law which 
consecrates all legitimate rights, and of which the princi- 
ples have been sought in the manners and. character of the 
nation, might hope for a longer duration than if founded 
only on vain and speculative theories. But time modifies 
and changes every thing. And a scheme of revision, not 
indeed anticipated, and fixed to take place at any stated 
time, but held possible, if the necessity for it should be 
imperiously felt, has appeared to us useful, provided it 
could be resorted to under such forms as might prevent, or 
check, any attempt at innovation. (Arts. 229, 233.) 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 539 

The fundamental law of the United Provinces re- 
served to the commission which framed it, the right of 
interpreting its regulations during the three first years. 
We are of opinion, that since the law necessarily expresses 
the unanimous sentiment of the king and the two cham- 
bers of the states-general, to the law ought to be left that 
interpretation which is, in fact, nothing else than the 
sound application of the articles of the constitutional act. 

For carrying into effect, with prudent circumspection, 
and without the shock of conflicting interests, the changes 
which the fundamental law requires, it assigns to your 
majesty, by organic regulations, the care of successively 
introducing the various institutions which it has created 
or re-established, of appointing for the first time the 
members of the second chamber of the states-general, 
and all the magistrates ; whatever in other respects may 
be the mode of appointment adopted. (Art. add. 1.) 

The fundamental law maintains in vigour all the laws 
which govern the different parts of the kingdom, until they 
are superseded by other well-meditated laws ; and thus is 
afforded it the best support, the most powerful auxiliary it 
can have, your majesty's wisdom and love of your subjects. 
(Art. add. 2.) 

May this fundamental law, Sire, when corrected by your 
enlightened understanding, and ameliorated by time, con- 
tribute to the prosperity of the kingdom, add to the na- 
tional welfare, and tend to cherish that mutual attachment 
between the prince and his subjects, which is productive 
of such happy consequences, which is a prerogative only 
enjoyed by good princes, and which, under your glorious 
race, promises us the fairest destinies. 
Done at the Hague, this 13th day of July, 3815. 
Gysbert Karel ; Van-Hogendorp ; W. Vantuyll Van-Se- 
rooskerken ; Yan-Zuylen ; the baron cl' Anethan, by pro- 



540 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

curation from M. Raepsaet ; B. J. Holvoet; J. H. Mol- 
lerus ; H. W. Van-Aylva ; Gendebien ; A. J. le Lampsins ; 
Wilh. Queysen; the count de Thiennes Lombize; the count 
de Mean ; O. Leclerq ; Theod. Dotrenge ; the count de Me- 
rode Westerloo; B. J. Holvoet ; J. V. D. Dussen; Cornells 
Theodorus Elout ; F. Dubois ; J. E. N. Van-Lynden ; 
C. F. Van-Maanen ; E. J. Alberda; F. Van Der Duyn Van 
Maasdam ; Deconinck ; count d'Arschot; J. D. Meyer, 
secretary. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 541 

FUNDAMENTAL LAW 

OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



Chapter I. — Of the Kingdom and its Inhabitants. 

Art. 1. The kingdom of the Netherlands, of which the 
limits are fixed by the treaty concluded between the powers 
of Europe assembled at the congress of Vienna, and signed 
on the 9th of June, 1815, is composed of the following 
provinces : 

North Brabant, South Brabant, Limburg, Guelderland, 
Liege, East Flanders, West Flanders, Hainault, Holland, 
Zealand, Namur, Antwerp, Utrecht, Friesland, Overyssel, 
Groningen, Drenthe. 

The grand duchy of Luxemburg, with the limits fixed by 
the treaty of Vienna, being placed under the same sove- 
reignty as the kingdom of the Netherlands, shall be go- 
verned by the same fundamental law, saving its relations 
with the German confederacy. 

2. The provinces of Guelderland, Holland, Zealand, 
Utrecht, Friesland, Overyssel, Groningen and Drenthe 
shall preserve their present limits. 

North Brabant comprises the territory of the province 
which now bears the name of Brabant, with the exception 
of the part which belonged to the department of la Meuse 
Inferieure. 

The provinces of South Brabant (department of la Dyle), 
of East Flanders (department of 1' Escaut), of West Flan- 
ders (department of la Lys), of Hainault (department 
of Jemmapes), and of Antwerp (department des Deux- 
Nethes), shall preserve the present boundaries of those 
departments. 



542 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

The province of Limburg contains the department of la 
Meuse Inferieure entire, and such parts of the department 
of la Roer as were ceded to the kingdom by the treaty of 
Vienna. 

The province of Liege comprises the department of 
I' Ourthe, with the exception of the part separated from 
it by the same treaty. 

The province of Namur contains that part of the depart- 
ment of the Sambre et Meuse which does not belong to the 
grand duchy of Luxemburg. 

The limits of the grand duchy of Luxemburg remain as 
fixed by the treaty of Vienna. 

3. Such alterations in the boundaries of the provinces as 
may be deemed expedient or necessary, shall be carried into 
effect by law, due regard being paid, as well to the interest 
of the inhabitants, as to the convenience of the general 
administration. 

4. Every individual within the territories of the kingdom, 
whether a denizen or foreigner, enjoys the protection 
granted to persons and property. 

5. The exercise of civil rights is determined by law. 

6. The right of voting in the towns and country districts, 
as well as the qualifications required for admission into the 
provincial and local administrations, shall be regulated by 
provincial and local statutes. 

7. The dispositions contained in these statutes, relative 
to the rights and eligibility mentioned in the last article, 
such as the same shall be in force at the end of the tenth 
year following the promulgation of thefundamental law, shall 
be considered to form part of the said fundamental law. 

8. No one can be appointed a member of the states- 
general, head or member of the departments of general 
administration, counsellor of state, king's commissioner 
in the provinces, or member of the high court, unless he 
is an inhabitant of the Netherlands, and bom either in 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 543 

the kingdom, or in the colonies, of parents settled in the 
same. 

A person born abroad during the absence of his parents 
from their native country, whether such absence be tem- 
porary or in the service of the public, enjoys the same 
rights. 

9. The natives of the country, or those who are reputed 
such, whether by a fiction of law, or by naturalization, are 
without distinction, eligible to all other functions. 

10. During one year after the promulgation of the pre- 
sent fundamental law, the king shall be at liberty to grant 
persons born abroad, and settled in the kingdom, the 
rights of native subjects, and admission to all employments 
whatsoever. 

11. Every person is equally admissible to employments, 
without distinction of rank or birth, saving the regulations 
which the provinces, in pursuance of Chapter IV. of the 
fundamental law, may think proper to frame, relative to 
the composition of the provincial states. 

Chapter II. — Of the King. 

% 1. — Of the Succession to the Throne. 

Art. 12. The crown of the kingdom of the Netherlands 
is, and remains, assigned to his majesty William Frederic, 
prince of Orange Nassau, and hereditarily to his legitimate 
descendants, conformably to the following regulations. 

13. The legitimate descendants of the reigning king are 
the children born, and to be born, of his marriage with her 
majesty Frederica Louisa Wilhelmina, princess of Prussia, 
and generally the descendants sprung from a marriage con- 
tracted or consented to by the king, in concurrence with 
the states-general. 

14. The crown is hereditary by right of primogeniture, 



544 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

so that the eldest son of the king, or his descendant, reckon- 
ing from male to male, succeeds by representation. 

15. In default of descendant, male by male, of the eldest 
son, the crown passes to his brothers, or to their de- 
scendants, male by male, and equally according to the right 
of primogeniture and representation. 

16. In total default of descendants, male by male, of the 
house of Orange Nassau, the daughters of the king are 
called to the throne in the order of primogeniture. 

17. If the king leave no daughters, the crown devolves 
to the family of the eldest princess of the masculine line, 
eldest descendant of the last king, and in case of her pre- 
vious decease, she is represented by her descendants. 

18. If there exist no descendant in line masculine of the 
last king, the line feminine eldest descendant of this king 
succeeds, the masculine branch being always preferred to 
the feminine, and the eldest to the youngest, and in each 
branch, the male to the female, and the eldest to the 
youngest. 

19. If the king die without leaving any posterity, and 
there are no descendants, male by male, of the house of 
Orange Nassau, the crown devolves to the nearest relation 
of the last king, of the royal family ; and in case of his 
previous decease, to his descendants. 

20. When a woman has caused the crown to pass into 
another family, this family succeeds to all the rights of the 
family actually reigning, and the preceding articles are 
applicable to it, so that its descendants, from male to male, 
succeed to the exclusion of women or their feminine de- 
scendants, and that no other line can be called to the throne 
as long as this family is not entirely extinct. 

21. A princess who has married without the consent of 
the states-general, has no right to the throne. A queen 
abdicates by contracting marriage without the consent of 
the states-general. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 545 

22. In default of posterity of the king William Frederick 
of Orange Nassau, the reigning sovereign, the crown de- 
volves to his sister, the princess Frederica Louisa Wilhel- 
mina of Orange, dowager of the late Charles George 
Augustus, hereditary prince of Brunswick Lunenberg, or 
to her legitimate descendants, sprung from a marriage 
contracted in] conformance to the dispositions of Art. 13 
above. 

23. In default of legitimate descendants of this princess, 
the crown passes to the legitimate male descendants of the 
princess Caroline of Orange, sister of the deceased prince 
William, and widow of the late prince of Nassau Weilburgh, 
always by right of primogeniture and representation. 

24. If particular circumstances should render necessary 
any change in the order of succession to the throne, the 
king shall be at liberty to present a project of law on the 
subject to the states-general, in a convocation of both 
chambers : and on this occasion the second chamber shai 
be raised to double its usual number. 

25. The king who has no heir liable to be called to 
the throne by the fundamental law, proposes one to the 
states-general, assembled and composed as laid down in the 
preceding article. 

26. If the proposition is assented to by the slates-general, 
the king makes known his successor to the nation according 
to the forms prescribed for the promulgation of Jaws, and 
causes solemn proclamation to be made of the same. 

27. If a successor to the king has not been appointed 
before his death, the states-general, assembled and com- 
posed as laid down in Art. 24, appoint and solemnly pro- 
claim him. 

28. In the cases mentioned in Articles 22, 23, 24, and 
27, the succession remains settled as laid down in Art. 13, 
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. 

Vol. 1. 2 N 



546 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

29. The king of the Netherlands cannot wear another 
crown ; nor can the seat of government, under any circum- 
stances, be placed out of the kingdom. 

§2. Of the Revenues of the Crown. 

30. The king enjoys an annual revenue of 2,400,000 
florins payable from the public treasury. 

31 . Should the king William Frederick of Orange Nassau 
now reigning, make a proposition to that effect, he may be 
assigned by law, and in full property, domains to the 
amount of 500,000 florins income, which shall be deducted 
from the revenues fixed in the preceding article. 

32. Summer and winter palaces, suitably furnished, are 
appropriated for the residence of the king, with an annual 
sum which shall not exceed 100,000 florins for the keeping 
such palaces in repair. 

33. The king, the princes and princesses of his family, 
are exempt from all personal and direct taxes : they are not 
exempt from land and house taxes, except for the places 
of residence which have been assigned to them : they are 
subject to all other impositions. 

34. The king may make what regulations he thinks pro- 
per for the government of his family. 

35. A queen dowager enjoys, during her widowhood, an 
annual income of 150,000 florins, payable from the public 
treasury. 

36. The king's eldest son, or his male descendant, pre- 
sumptive heir to the throne, is the first subject of the king, 
and bears the title of prince of Orange. 

37. The prince of Orange, in this character, when he has 
completed his eighteenth year, enjoys on the public trea- 
sury an annual income of 100,000 florins, which shall be 
increased to 200,000 florins, when, conformably to Art. 16, 
he shall have contracted marriage. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. i 

§ 3. Of the Guardianship of the King. 

38. The king is of age when he has attained his eighteenth 
year complete. 

39. In case of a minority, the king is under the guardian- 
ship of certain members of the royal house, and of other 
distinguished persons who are natives of the kingdom. 

40. The said guardianship is settled beforehand by the 
reigning king, in concert with the states-general and the 
united chambers. 

41. If the guardianship has not been settled by the pre- 
decessor of the young king, belongs to the states-general, 
the chambers united, and if possible, in concert with some 
near relations of the prince, to make due provision for the 
same. 

42. Every guardian, before he enters on the duties of his 
office, in the assembly of the states-general, and before the 
united chambers, takes the following oath to the president: 
" I swear fidelity to the king: I swear religiously to dis- 
" charge all the duties which his guardianship imposes on 
" me, and particularly to inspire him with attachment 
" to the fundamental law of his kingdom, and affection for 
" his people. So help me, God." 

§4. Of the Regency. 

43. During the king's minority, the royal power is ex- 
ercised by a regent: he is appointed beforehand by the 
reigning king, in concert with the states-general, the cham- 
bers united. The succession to the regency, during the 
king's minority, may be regulated in the same manner. 

44. If during the life of the minor king's predecessor, no 
regent has been appointed, the right of appointing him is 
vested in the states-general, assembled and composed as laid 
down in Art. 24. 

If the succession to the regency has not been settled, this 

2 N 2 



148 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



may be done by the regent, in concert with the states- 
general composed as above . 

45. The regent, in an assembly of the states-general, and 
before the united chambers, takes the following oath to the 
president: " I swear obedience to the king: I swear that 
61 in the exercise of the royal power, during the king's mi- 
" nority (while the king remains incapable of reigning), I 
" will observe and maintain the fundamental law of the 
" kingdom, and that on no occasion, and on no pretext 
" whatever, will I deviate from the same myself, or permit 
" others to deviate from it. I swear, moreover, to defend 
" and preserve, to the utmost of my power, the indepen- 
" dence of the kingdom and the integrity of its territory, 
" as well as public and individual liberty, — to maintain the 
" rights of all and each of the king's subjects, and to em- 
* s ploy for the preservation of the general and individual 
" welfare, as a good and faithful regent ought, all the 
" means which the laws place at my disposal. So help 
" me, God." 

46. The regal power is also exercised by a regent when 
the king is incapable of reigning. 

The council of state, composed of its ordinary mem- 
bers, and of the heads of the ministerial departments, 
after having verified the existence of the fact by a strict 
inquiry, convokes the states-general (the second cham- 
ber being double its usual numbers) in order to provide 
for the same. 

The members of the states-general who are assembled at 
the seat of government on the twenty-first day after due 
convocation of the said states, open the session. 

47. Should it be necessary to provide for the guardian- 
ship of the king's person, under the circumstances men- 
tioned in the preceding article, the principles laid down in 
Art. 39 and 41, respecting the guardianship of a minor king 
are followed. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 549 

48. If, on the occurrence of such a case, the prince of 
Orange has attained the full age of eighteen years, he is 
regent of right. 

49. If the prince of Orange has not completed his 
eighteenth year, and under the circumstances mentioned in 
Art. 27 and 44, the council of state, composed as in Art. 46, 
exercises the royal authority until it be otherwise provided 
for by the states-general. 

The members of this council take the following oath to 
the president, and the president the same oath before the 
assembly: " I swear, as member (president) of the council 
" of state, in the exercise of the royal authority, to con- 
" tribute to the maintenance and observance of the funda- 
" mental law of the kingdom until it be otherwise provided 
" for by the states -general. So help me, God." 

50. The act which settles the regency shall fix the sum 
to be levied on the revenues of the crown for defraying the 
expenses of the same. This sum shall not be changed 
during the continuance of the regency. 

51. If the king has not proposed to the states-general a 
successor to the throne (Art. 25) ; if he has not, in con- 
cert with the said states, settled the guardianship of the 
minor king (Art. 40) ; if he has not designated, in con- 
junction with them, the regent of the kingdom (Art. 43) ; 
the states-general make a solemn declaration of the exist- 
ing case, and provide for it as prescribed in Art. 27, 41, 
and 44. 

§ 5. Of the Inauguration of the King. 

52. The king, when he assumes the reins of government, 
is solemnly inaugurated in a public sitting of the states- 
general, the chambers united : this sitting is held in the 
open air. 

In time of peace, the inauguration takes place alternately 



550 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

at Amsterdam and in a city of the southern provinces, 
chosen by the king. 

53. In this public sitting, after the whole fundamental 
law has been read before the king, he takes the following 
oath : 

" I swear to the people of the Netherlands, to observe 
" and maintain the fundamental law of the kingdom, and 
" that on no occasion, and under no pretext whatever, will 
" I deviate therefrom, or suffer others to deviate from it. 
" I swear, moreover, to defend and preserve with all my 
" power the independence of the kingdom, and the inte- 
" grity of its territory, as well as public and individual 
" liberty, — to maintain the rights of all and each of my 
" subjects, to employ for the preservation and increase of 
" the general and individual prosperity, as is the duty of a 
" good king, all the means which the laws place at my 
" disposal. So help me, God." 

54. When this oath has been taken, the king is inau- 
gurated in the same sitting by the states-general. 

The president, to this effect, makes the solemn declara- 
tion which follows, and which he, and all the members 
confirm by their individual oaths : 

" We swear, in the name of the people of the Nether- 
" lands, that in virtue of the fundamental law of this 
" state, we receive and inaugurate you as king; that we 
" will maintain the rights of your crown ; that we will be 
" obedient and faithful to you in the defence of your person 
" and your royal dignity ; and we swear to do every thing 
" that good and faithful states-general are bound to do. 
" So help us, God." 

55. The king gives notice of his inauguration to the 
provincial states, which render him homage in the follow- 
ing terms : 

" We swear that we will be faithful to you, as legitimate 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 551 

" king of the Netherlands, in the defence of your person 
" and royal dignity; and that, in conformity with the fun- 
" damental law, we will obey the ordinances which shall 
« be transmitted to us from you ; that in the execution 
" of the said ordinances we will give aid and assistance 
" to your servants and counsellors ; and, moreover, that 
" we will do what faithful subjects are bound to do. So 
" help us, God." 

A solemn deputation of members from each assembly is 
charged with bearing this declaration to the king. 

§ 6. Of the Royal Prerogative. 

56. The king has the direction of foreign affairs, he 
appoints and recals ministers and consuls. 

57. The king declares war and makes peace : he gives 
notice thereof to the two chambers of the states-general, 
and joins thereto such communications as he thinks compa- 
tible with the interests and safety of the state. 

58. To the king belongs the right of concluding and 
ratifying all other treaties and conventions : he gives notice 
thereof to the two chambers of the states-general as 
soon as he thinks the interest and security of the state 
permit it. 

If treaties concluded in time of peace, contain a ces- 
sion or exchange of a part of the territory of the kingdom 
or of its possessions in other parts of the world, such 
treaties are not ratified by the king until they have been 
approved by the states-general. 

59. The king disposes of the land and naval forces : he 
appoints and dismisses the officers, and may grant a pension 
on their discharge when circumstances require it. 

60. The supreme direction of the colonies and posses- 
sions of the kingdom in other parts of the world, belongs 
exclusively to the king. 

61. The king has the supreme direction of the finances: 



552 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

he regulates and fixes the salaries of the colleges and 
functionaries who are paid from the public treasury. These 
salaries are carried to the budget of national expenses. 

The pay of the functionaries belonging to the judicial 
order is determined by law. 

62. The king has a right to coin money, and to stamp it 
with his effigy. 

63. The king confers nobility: those whom he ennobles 
present their diplomas to the states of their provinces : they 
share thenceforward the prerogatives attached to nobility, 
and especially the right of being enrolled in the equestrian 
body, provided they possess the requisite qualifications. 

64. Every order of knighthood is instituted by a law, on 
a proposition from the king. 

65. Foreign orders which do not impose any obligation 
may be accepted by the king, and with his consent, by the 
princes of his family. 

No foreign order whatever can be accepted by another 
subject of the king without his express permission. 

66. This permission is equally requisite for the accept- 
ance of all foreign titles, dignities or trusts. 

For the future, letters of nobility conferred by a foreign 
prince, cannot be accepted by any subject of- the king. 

67. The king has the right of granting pardon, after 
having taken the opinion of the high court of the king- 
dom. 

68. Besides the right of dispensation in the cases deter- 
mined by law, the king, when urgent circumstances require 
it, and the states-general are not assembled, grants dis- 
pensations to individuals in their private concerns and on 
their petition, after having heard the council of state: in 
matters of justice these dispensations are not granted until 
the king has first taken the opinion of the high court, and 
in other matters, that of the departments of administration 
Interested in the same. 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 553 

The king communicates to the states-general all the dis- 
pensations granted by him in the interval between one 
session and another. 

69. The king decides all disputes which arise between 
two or more provinces, if they cannot be terminated 
amicably. 

70. The king presents to the states-general projects of 
law, and lays before them such other propositions as he 
thinks proper. 

He sanctions or rejects the propositions made to him by 
the states-general. 

§ 7. Of the Council of State and the Ministerial 
Departments. 

71. There is a council of state composed of twenty-four 
members at the most, chosen as far as possible, from all 
the provinces of the kingdom. The king appoints and dis- 
misses them at will. The king presides over the council of 
state, and appoints, if he thinks proper, a secretary of state 
to officiate as vice-president. 

72. The prince of Orange is of right a member of the 
council of state, and takes his seat therein when he has 
attained his eighteenth year complete. 

The other princes of the royal family, on their coming 
of age, may be summoned there by the king. They are 
not comprised in the fixed number of ordinary members. 
. 73. The king lays before the council of state the pro- 
positions which he makes to the states-general, and those 
addressed to him by them, as well as all general measures 
affecting the internal administration of the kingdom, and 
its possessions in other parts of the world. 
\ In the preamble to laws and royal regulations, it is 
necessary to mention that the council of state has been 
heard. 



554 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



The king, moreover, takes the opinion of the council of 
state on all matters of general or particular interest that he 
thinks proper to submit to it. 

The king decides alone, and communicates each of his 
decisions to the council of state. 

74. The king may appoint counsellors of state extraor- 
dinary without pay: he calls them to the council when he 
thinks proper. 

75. The king establishes ministerial departments: he 
appoints the heads of these departments, and dismisses them 
at will. He may summon one or more of them to assist in 
the deliberations of the council of state. 

76. The oath taken by the heads of the ministerial 
departments and counsellors of state, ordinary and extra- 
ordinary, contains, over and above what the king thinks 
proper to insert therein, the obligation of being faithful to 
the fundamental law. 

Chapter III. — Of the States-General. 

§ 1. Of the Composition of the States-General. 

77. The states-general represent the nation. 

78. The states-general are composed of two chambers. 

79. One of these chambers is composed of one hundred 
and ten members, appointed by the states of the provinces 
as follows : 

North Brabant, seven ; South Brabant, eight; Limburg, 
four; Guelderland, six; Liege, six; East Flanders, ten; 
West Flanders, eight ; Hainault, eight ; Holland, twenty- 
two ; Zealand, three ; Namur,two ; Antwerp, five ; Utrecht, 
three ; Friesland, five ; Overyssel, four ; Groningen, four; 
Drenthe, one ; Luxemburg, four. 

80. The other chamber, which bears the title of the first 
chamber, is composed of not less than forty, and not more 
than sixty members ; they cannot be less than full forty 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 555 

years of age, and are appointed for life by the king from 
among the persons the most distinguished for their services, 
birth, and fortune. 

§ 2. Of the second Chamber of the States-General. 

81. Those persons are eligible to the second chamber who 
are settled in the province by which they are appointed, 
and are full thirty years of age. 

The members elected in the same province cannot be 
related or allied to each other nearer than in the third 
degree. 

Land and naval officers are not eligible except they hold 
a rank above that of captain. 

82. The members of this chamber are elected for three 
years: the chamber is annually renewed by thirds, in the 
order laid down in a table which shall be framed for this 
purpose. The members going out are immediately re- 
eligible. 

83. The members of this chamber vote individually, 
without instructions, and without reference to the assembly 
which has appointed them. 

84. On entering upon the discharge of their functions, 
they take, each according to the rites of his religion, the 
following oath: " I swear (promise) to observe and main- 
" tain the fundamental law of the kingdom, and that on no 
" occasion, and on no pretext whatever, will I deviate 
"therefrom, or consent to such deviation; that I will 
" preserve and protect, to the utmost of my power, the in- 
" dependence of the kingdom, public and individual liberty; 
" that I will contribute, as far as in me lies, to the increase 
" of the general prosperity, without swerving from this 
" end for the sake of any particular or provincial interest. 
" So help me, God." 

They are admitted to this oath after having taken that 
which follows : 



556 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



" I swear (declare) that to be appointed member of the 
" second chamber of the states-general, I have not given or 
" promised, that I will neither give nor promise, directly 
" or indirectly, under any pretext whatever, any gifts or 
" presents, to any person in office or out of office. 

" I swear (promise) that I will never receive from any 
" one whatever, under any pretext, directly or indirectly, 
" any gifts or presents, to do, or not to do, any thing 
" whatever in the exercise of my functions. So help me> 
" God." 

These oaths are taken to the king, or in the second 
chamber, to its president acting under the king's authority. 

85. The president of the second chamber is appointed by 
the king from a triple list presented to him by the cham- 
ber, and holds his office for one session. 

86. The members of this chamber receive an indemnity 
for their journey ; it is regulated by law, and is in propor- 
tion to the distance. 

They receive, moreover, for the expenses of sojourn, the 
sum of 2,500 florins per annum : this indemnity, which is 
to be paid monthly, shall not be received in the interval 
between one session and another by such members as shall 
not have been present at the last session, unless they prove 
that they were prevented attending by illness. 

§ 3. Of the first Chamber of the States-General. 

87. The members of the first chamber, as a complete 
indemnity for their journey and sojourn, receive the sum 
of 3,000 florins per annum. 

88. On entering on the discharge of their functions, they 
take, each according to the rights of his religion, the oaths 
prescribed for the members of the second chamber. 

89. The president of the first chamber is appointed by 
the king, and holds his office for one session. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 557 

§ 4. Regulations common to the Two Chambers, 

90. No person can be at the same time member of both 
chambers . 

91. The heads of the departments of general administra- 
tion have a seat in the two chambers. They have a deli- 
berative voice only when they are members of the chamber 
in which they sit. 

92. The members of the states-general cannot be at the 
same time members of the chamber of accounts, or hold any 
situation connected with accounts. 

93. A member of the provincial states appointed to the 
states-general, on taking his seat, forfeits his first title. 

94. Each chamber verifies the powers of its members, 
and decides the differences which arise on this subject. 

95. Each chamber appoints its secretary (greffier). 

96. Each chamber bears the title of noble and mighty 
lords. 

97. The states-general meet at least once a year : the 
ordinary session commences the third Monday in the month 
of October. The king may convoke an extraordinary ses- 
sion when he thinks proper. 

98. In time of peace, the sessions are held alternately, 
from year to year, in a town of the northern provinces, and 
in one of the southern. 

99. At the king's demise, the states-general meet without 
a previous convocation. The members who, on the fifth 
day after such demise, are assembled in the place where the 
seat of government is fixed, open the extraordinary session. 

100. The session of the states-general is opened by the 
king or his commissioners, in a sitting of the two chambers 
united. It is closed in the same manner when the king is 
of opinion that the interests of the kingdom do not require 
its continuance. The ordinary session shall be at least 
twenty days. 



558 



CONSTITUTION OP THE 



101. Neither of the chambers can adopt a resolution 
unless more than half its members are present. 

102. Every resolution is adopted by an absolute majority 
of suffrages. 

103. The members of the states-general give their votes 
as their names are called over, and aloud. 

Elections and propositions of candidates are alone mad 
by secret ballot. 

104. In the different cases in which, in virtue of the 
fundamental law, the two chambers (the second doubled, 
or composed of its ordinary number) are united, the mem- 
bers sit without distinction of chambers. 

The president of the first chamber directs the delibera- 
tions. 

§5. Of the Legislative Power. 

105. The legislative power is exercised by the king and 
the states-general conjointly. 

106. The king addresses to the second chamber the pro* 
positions which he wishes to make to the states-general* 
either by a message containing the motives for such pro- 
position, or by commissioners. 

107. The chamber does not deliberate in a general as- 
sembly, on any proposition from the king, until such pro- 
position has been discussed in the different sections into 
which all the members of the chamber are divided, and 
which are periodically renewed by lot. 

108. The sittings of the second chamber of the states- 
general are public. The chamber nevertheless resolves 
itself into a committee when a tenth of the members present 
require it, or it is considered necessary. 

Resolutions may be adopted in the committee on such 
subjects as are discussed in the same. 

109. If the second chamber, having deliberated on the 
general report made to it of the opinion of its sections, 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 559 

adopts the project, it transmits it to the first chamber with 
the following formula : 

" The second chamber of the states-general transmits to 
" the first chamber the annexed proposition from the king ; 
" it is of opinion that there is room for adhering to the 
" same." 

1 10. If the second chamber is of opinion that it cannot 
adopt the proposition, it gives notice of this in the follow- 
ing terms : 

" The second chamber testifies to the king its gratitude 
(l for the zeal with which he watches over the interests of 
" the kingdom, and respectfully prays him to take his pro- 
" position into further consideration." 

111. The first chamber on receiving a proposition from 
the king, adopted by the second chamber, transmits it to 
the sections, and after having deliberated thereon in a 
general sitting, should it adopt the proposition, gives 
notice of it to the king in the following terms: 

" The states-general testify to the king their gratitude 
" for the zeal with which he watches over the interests of 
'* the kingdom, and adhere to his proposition." 
And to the second chamber in these terms : 
" The first chamber makes known to the second cham- 
" ber that it has adhered to the proposition from the king 
" was transmitted to it relative to " 

112. If the first chamber is of opinion that it cannot 
adopt the proposition, it expresses its opinion in the man- 
ner laid down in Art. 110. 

It gives notice thereof to the second chamber in the fol- 
lowing terms : 

" The first chamber of the states-general makes known 
" to the second chamber that it has respectfully prayed the 
" king to take his proposition of the .... relative to .... , 
" into further consideration." 

113. The states-general have a right to make proposi- 
tions to the king in the manner following:: 



560 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

1 14. The right of moving the states-general to deliberate 
on a proposition to be addressed to the king, belongs ex- 
clusively to members of the second chamber: its discussion 
is subject to the forms prescribed for projects of laws. 

115. If the second chamber approve the proposition, it 
transmits it to the first chamber, with the following formula: 

" The second chamber of the states-general transmits to 
" the first chamber the annexed proposition, and is of 
" opinion that there is room for requiring the king's sanc- 
66 tion to the same." 

116. The first chamber, having deliberated on the pro- 
position in the usual manner, when it approves it, addresses 
it to the king in the form following : 

" The states-general address to the king the annexed 
" proposition, which they believe advantageous and useful 
" to the state. They pray his majesty to give it the royal 
" sanction." 

It communicates the same to the second chamber in 
these terms: 

" The first chamber of the states-general makes known 
" to the second chamber that it has adopted its proposition 

" of the relative to and that it has addressed 

" the same to his majesty, praying his royal sanction." 

117. If the first chamber does not approve the proposi- 
tion, it makes the second chamber acquainted therewith 
in the following terms: " The first chamber of the states- 
" general transmits to the second chamber the annexed 
" proposition, to which it is of opinion that it cannot give 
" its assent." 

118. When the king adopts a proposition of the states- 
general, he signifies his assent thus : " The king consents." 
When he rejects such proposition: "The king will de- 
liberate." 

119. Projects of laws adopted by the king and the two 
chambers of the states-general, become laws of the king- 
dom, and are promulgated by the king. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 561 

120. The law regulates the mode of promulgation, kml 
the period after which laws become obligatory. 

The formula to be used in the promulgation of laws is as 
follows : 

"We king of the Netherlands, 8?a. S;c. ; to all those 

" whom these presents shall see, greeting : 

" Be it known, that having taken into consideration, ^c. 
" (here the motives are assigned). For these causes, and 
" having heard our council of state, and in common accord 
" with the states-general, we have decreed and do decree 
" by these presents, (the text of the law.) Given," fyc. 

§ 6. Of the Budget of the State. 

121. The budget of national expenses must have the 
sanction of the states-general. It is laid before the second 
chamber, during it's ordinary session, by the king. 

122. The budget is divided into two parts; a division 
which shall be carried into effect in the budget for the year 
1820, and sooner if circumstances permit it. 

123. The first part contains all the ordinary, fixed, and 
permanent expenses which result from the ordinary course 
of events, and relate more particularly to a state of peace. 

These expenses, after being sanctioned by the states- 
general, are not dependent, during the ten first years, on 
any further or annual consent from them. 

During this period they shall not become the subject of 
any fresh discussion, except when the king makes known 
that a source of expense has ceased or varied. 

124. In voting this part of the budget, the means of 
meeting it are at the same time determined. 

These means are also voted for ten years, unless the king 
should make known to the states that a necessity exists for 
replacing or modifying any part of the same. 

125. One year before the expiration of the term for 

Vol. I. 2 






562 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

which these fixed expenses are voted, the king proposes a 
new budget for the ten succeeding years. 

126. The second part of the budget contains the extra- 
ordinary, unforeseen, and precarious expenses which, espe- 
cially in time of war, must be regulated according to cir- 
cumstances. These expenses, as well as the means of 
meeting them, are only voted for a year. 

127. The expenses of each department of general admi- 
nistration form a distinct chapter in the budget. 

The funds allowed for a department must be exclusively 
appropriated to the expenses of that department, so that 
no sum can be transferred from one chapter of general 
administration to another, without the consent of the states- 
general. 

128. The king annually lays before the states-general a 
detailed account of the employment of the public taxes. 

Chapter IV.* — Of the Provincial States. 

§ 1 . Of the Composition of the Provincial States. 

Art. 129. The states of the provinces are composed of 
members elected by the three following orders : The nobles 
or equestrian body, the towns, and the country districts. 

130. The total number of members of which the pro- 
vincial states are composed, and the number to be elected 
by each order, are fixed by the king, with the advice of a 
commission appointed by him in each province. 

131. In each province, the nobles shall be formed or not 
into equestrian bodies, according as it may be thought 
expedient, 

The right of first convoking the nobles, or equestrian bo- 
dies, and of fixing the rules for the first admission of mem- 
bers into the same, is vested in the king : they submit their 
rules to the king's approbation, and in compiling them, 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 



563 



must not swerve from the principles of the fundamental 
law. 

132. The regencies of the towns shall be organized ac- 
cording to the regulations which the regencies now in 
being, and special commissions appointed by the king, 
shall propose. 

These regulations shall be addressed to the provincial 
states, and by them submitted, with their observations, to 
the king's approbation. 

They shall determine the mode of electing the members 
of the provincial states to be returned by each town. 

133. Each town has an electoral college : it is convoked 
every year, solely for the purpose of filling up the vacant 
places in the town council. 

134. The inhabitants of each town, who are qualified 
to vote, appoint to the vacant places in the electoral 
colleges: the appointments are made annually, and by a 
majority of votes ; the tickets in which the said votes are 
given being sealed and signed, and collected from house 
to house by direction of the general administration. 

The regulations of each town determine the amount of 
direct taxes necessary to be paid, and the other qualifica- 
tions requisite for entitling a person to vote. 

135. For exercising the right of election, the country is 
divided into districts. 

136. No person can be a member of the states of more 
than one province at the same time. 

137. The king, in every province, and under such deno- 
mination as he thinks fit, appoints commissioners ; giving 
them the necessary instructions for securing the execution 
of the laws, and for watching over the interests of the king- 
dom and the province. 

They preside over the assembly of the states and those of 
the deputations appointed in conformance to Art. 153. 

2 2 



564 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

When appointed, they take an oath to be faithful to the 
fundamental law. 

138. The members of the provincial states before enter- 
ing on their functions, and each according to the rites of 
his religion, take the following oath: 

" I swear (promise) to observe the fundamental law of 
" the kingdom without deviating therefrom in any man- 
" ner, or under any pretext whatever ; to conform myself 
" to the regulation of the province, and to do all in my 
" power to increase its prosperity. So help me, God." 

This oath shall be administered to the said members after 
they have taken that of not having given or promised any 
thing, and of not receiving any forbidden gifts or presents, 
conformably to what is prescribed for members of the 
states-general. (Art. 84.) 

139. The provincial states meet at least once a year, and 
whenever they are convoked by the king. 

140. The members of the provincial states give their 
votes individually, without instructions, and without refer- 
ence to the assembly which appoints them. 

141. The provincial states cannot adopt any resolution 
unless more than one half of their members are present. 

Every resolution is adopted by an absolute majority of 
votes. 

142. The members of the provincial states vote aloud, 
and when called upon by name : the election and presenta- 
tion of candidates are alone made by ballot. 

§ 2. Of the Powers of the States. 

143. The states lay the expenses of their administration 
before the king, who, provided they meet his approbation, 
includes them in the general budget of national expenses. 

144. The slates of the provinces, either from their own 
number or otherwise, appoint the members of the second 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 565 

chamber of the states-general: they choose them, as far 
as possible, from the different parts of the province. 

145. The states are charged with carrying into effect 
such laws as relate to the protection of the different forms 
of religion, and to their external celebration, to public in- 
struction, to the management of charitable institutions, to 
the encouragement of agriculture, commerce and manufac- 
tures, as well as all other laws which the king transmits to 
them for this purpose. 

146. The states are charged with every thing that con- 
cerns the administration and internal economy of their 
province ; the ordinances and regulations which they think 
necessary, or conducive to the general interests of the pro- 
vince, must be sanctioned by the king before they can be 
carried into effect. 

147. They take care that no other restrictions than such 
as are established by law, are laid on the free importation, 
exportation, and transit of wares and merchandise. 

148. They reconcile the differences which arise between 
the local authorities : if they cannot accomplish this, they 
submit the same to the king's decision. 

149. The king has a right to suspend or annul the acts 
of the provincial states which are contrary to the laws or 
to the general interest. 

150. The provincial states propose measures to the king 
for the maintenance or completion of such works and esta- 
blishments as they believe useful to their province : they 
can propose at the same time means for meeting the expense, 
in the whole or part, at the cost of the province. 

When their propositions are approved of, they have the 
superintendency of the works, and the management of the 
means, on condition of rendering an account of the same. 

151. They have a right to maintain the interests of their 
province and of those subject to their administration, be- 
fore the king, and the states-sreneral. 



566 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



152. The mode of exercising the powers assigned to the 
states by the fundamental law, and in pursuance of the 
same, shall be determined by regulations framed by the 
provincial states, and sanctioned by the king. 

L53. The states appoint a deputation of their members, 
which is charged in general, as well during the continuance 
of their sessions, as when separated, with every thing ap- 
pertaining to the daily administration, and to the execution 
of the laws. The province of Holland, on account of its 
extent and population, may have two deputations. 

§ 3. Of the local Administrations. 

154. The rural administrations of lordships, districts, and 
villages, shall be organized in such manner as shall be 
found best adapted to circumstances and local interests, 
and at the same time be deemed compatible with the rights 
legally acquired. 

The provincial states have a right to make regulations 
on this subject, in conformity with the fundamental law ; 
they shall submit such regulations, with their observations 
on the same, to the approbation of the king. 

155. The local administrations have the full and entire 
direction, as laid down in the regulations, of their par- 
ticular and domestic interests. The ordinances which they 
frame on this subject are addressed by copy to the states 
of the province, and cannot be contrary to the laws and 
general interest. 

The king has at all times the right of requiring such 
information on the administration of the local authorities, 
and of making on this head such regulations, as he may 
conceive necessary. 

156. The local administrations are obliged to submit to 
the provincial states their budget of receipts and expenses, 
and to conform themselves to what the states prescribe in 
this respect. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 567 

157. When the communal burdens require taxes to be 
imposed, the local administrations shall scrupulously ob- 
serve the rules laid down in the laws, ordinances, and regu- 
lations relating to matters of finance. 

Before these taxes can be collected, they must receive 
the assent of the provincial states, to which the projects? 
with an exact statement of the wants of the commune, shall 
be addressed. 

In examining these projects, the states are to take care 
that the proposed impost does not clog the transit, or levy 
higher duties on the importation of the produce of the soil 
or industry of other provinces, towns, or rural communes, 
than those collected on the produce of the place itself, in 
which the impost is established. 

158. No new communal impost can be established with- 
out the king's consent. 

159. The states must lay before the king all the com- 
munal budgets of which he requires the transmission. 

The king gives the necessary instructions for the settle- 
ment of the accounts rendered by the local administrations. 

160. The local administrations are at liberty to support 
the interests of those under their administration before the 
king, and the states of their province. 

§ 4. General Regulations. 

161. Every inhabitant of the kingdom has a right to ad- 
dress written petitions to the competent authorities, pro- 
vided he does this individually, and not under a collective 
title, which is only permitted to bodies legally constituted 
and acknowledged as such, and on such matters only as 
relate to their official powers. 



568 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



Chapter V. — Of Justice. 

§ 1 . General Regulations. 

Art. 162. Justice, throughout the kingdom, is adminis- 
tered in the king's name. 

163. The same civil and penal code, the same laws on 
commerce, and on the organization of the judicial power, 
shall be common to the whole kingdom. 

164. The peaceable possession and enjoyment of his pro- 
perty are guaranteed to every inhabitant. 

No person can be deprived thereof, except when the 
public good requires it, in such cases and in such manner 
as shall be established by law, and on condition of a just 
indemnity. 

,165. Such disputes as relate to property, or the rights 
thence derived, to debts, or civil rights, are exclusively 
within the resort of the tribunals. 

166. The judicial power can only be exercised by the 
tribunals established by the fundamental law, or in pursu- 
ance of the same. 

167. No person can be withdrawn, against his will, from 
the judge whom the law assigns him. 

168. Except in the case of Jlagrans delictum, no one can 
be arrested otherwise than in virtue of an ordinance from 
the judge, which ordinance, with the motives thereof an- 
nexed, must be communicated to the person arrested, at the 
moment of the arrest, or immediately after. 

The law determines the form of this ordinance, as well 
as the period within which every accused person must be 
examined. 

169. If, under extraordinary circumstances, the public 
authority causes an inhabitant of the kingdom to be ar_ 
rested, the person by whose order the arrest takes place, 
shall be obliged to give notice thereof to the judge of the 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS- 56 

place within twenty-four hours,; and to deliver up the 
person arrested to the said judge, within three days at 
furthest. 

The criminal tribunals, each in its jurisdiction, are 
charged with watching over the execution of this regulation. 

170. No person is permitted to enter the abode of an 
inhabitant against his will, unless in pursuance of an order 
emanating from a functionary invested with due authority 
by law, and according to the forms established by the 
said law. 

171. Confiscation of property cannot be inflicted for any 
crime whatever. 

172. Every criminal judgment importing condemnation 
must express the crime, with all the circumstances which 
establish it, and contain the articles of the law which declare 
the penalty. 

173. Judgments in civil causes must have the motives on 
which they are grounded, annexed. 

174. Every judgment is pronounced in open court. 

^2. Of the High Court and the Tribunals. 

175. One supreme tribunal, bearing the title of the high 
court, is established for the whole kingdom : its members, 
as far as possible, shall be chosen from all the provinces. 

176. The high court makes the second chamber of the 
states-general acquainted with the vacancies which occur 
in it, and the king, from a triple list presented by this 
chamber, selects the persons to fill them up. 

The king appoints the president of the high court from 
among its members : he also appoints the attorney-general. 

177. The members of the states-general, the heads of 
departments cf general administration, the counsellors of 
state, and the king's commissioners in the provinces, are 
amenable to the high court for all offences committed dur- 
ing the continuance of their functions, 



570 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

They cannot be prosecuted for offences committed in the 
discharge of their functions, until such prosecution has 
been authorized by the states-general. 

178. The lav/ determines the other functionaries who are 
amenable to the high court for all offences committed dur- 
ing the continuance of their functions. 

179. Actions directed against the king, the members of 
his family, and the state, can be brought before the high 
court only ; those which relate to property (real actions) 
excepted, which may be carried before the ordinary judges. 

180. The high court watches over the administration of 
justice throughout the kingdom : it takes care that the 
courts and tribunals make a just application of the laws, 
and annuls such of their acts and judgments as are contrary 
to the same;- — the whole in conformity to the powers 
assigned to the said court by the code of procedure. 

181 . Appeals from causes which, according to the laws, 
have been tried in the first instance by the provincial courts, 
are carried before the high court. 

182. There is one court of justice for one or more 
provinces. 

The king appoints to the places which fall vacant in the 
courts from a triple list presented to him by the provincial 
states. 

The presidents o£ these courts are also in his appoint- 
ment, and are chosen from among the members. He like- 
wise appoints the attornies-general. 

183. Justice in criminal matters shall be administered 
exclusively by the provincial courts, and such other criminal 
tribunals as it shall be found necessary to establish. 

184. The administration of justice in civil affairs is con- 
fided to the provincial courts and civil tribunals. 

185. The organization of the provincial courts of the 
civil and criminal tribunals, their titles, jurisdiction, 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



571 



powers, with those of the attornies-general, and other mi- 
nisterial officers* shall be determined by law. 

186. The members of the high court, of the provincial 
courts, and criminal tribunals, as well as the attornies- 
general and other ministerial officers attached to the said 
courts and tribunals, hold their office for life. 

The term during which the other judges and ministerial 
officers are to hold their places, shall be fixed by law. 

No judge can be deprived of his office during the legal 
continuance of his functions, except at his own request, or 
in pursuance of a judgment. 

187. The law determines the mode of trying disputes 
and contraventions in the matter of imposts. 

188. Councils of war and a military high court take cog- 
nizance of all offences committed by persons serving in the 
land or naval forces of the state. 

This court is composed of an equal number of juris- 
consults, and officers of the army and marine, who are ap- 
pointed by the king for life : a jurisconsult shall always 
preside over it. 

189. The cognizance of civil actions against military 
persons belongs to the ordinary tribunals. 

Chapter VI. — Of Religion, 

Art. 190. Freedom of opinion in religion is guaranteed 
to all. 

191. Equal protection is granted to all the religious com- 
munities existing in the kingdom. 

192. All the king's subjects, without any distinction as to 
their religious tenets, enjoy the same civil and political 
rights, and are eligible to all dignities and employments 
whatsoever. 

193. The public exercise of no form of religious worship 
can be obstructed, unless such exercise should endanger the 
public order and tranquillity. 



572 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



194. The pay, pensions, and other advantages, of what 
nature soever they may be, which the different religious 
sects and their ministers now enjoy, are guaranteed to 
them. 

Provision may be made for such ministers as enjoy no 
pay, and an addition made to the incomes of such as have 
an inadequate allowance. 

195. The king takes care that the sums of money allowed 
for the expenses of religion, which are paid from the public 
treasury, are not converted from the purpose to which such 
sums are particularly appropriated. 

196. The king takes care that no religious sect be mo- 
lested in the enjoyment of that freedom which the law gua- 
rantees to it. 

He takes care, moreover, that the different religious sects 
confine themselves within the bounds of that obedience 
which they owe to the laws of the state. 

Chapter VII. — Of the Finances. 

Art. 197. No impost, in aid of the public treasury, can be 
established, except in pursuance of a law. 

198. No privilege can be granted on the subject of 
taxation. 

199. Every year, for the interest of the creditors of the 
state, the public debt is taken into consideration. 

200. The law regulates the weight and title of coins, and 
determines their value. 

201 . A college, under the name of counsellors and masters- 
general of the mint, directs and superintends every thing 
which concerns the coinage, conforming itself to the instruc- 
tions prescribed by lav/. 

The king, from a triple list presented to him by the 
second chamber of the states-general, appoints to the places 
which fail vacant in the said college. 



KINGDOM OP THE NETHERLANDS. 573 

202. A chamber of accounts is established for the whole 
kingdom : it is charged with the examination and liquida- 
tion of the annual accounts of the departments of general 
administration, of those of all persons charged with ac- 
counts, and others, conformably to the instructions laid 
down in the law. 

The members of the chamber of accounts, as far as is 
practicable, are chosen from all the provinces. 

The king fills up the places which fall vacant in the said 
chamber from a triple list presented to him by the second 
chamber of the states-general. 

Chapter VIII. — Of the Defence of the State. 

Art. 203. In conformity with ancient customs, with the 
spirit of the pacification of Ghent, and with the principles 
of the union of Utrecht, one of the first duties of the inha- 
bitants of the kingdom is to carry arms in support of the 
national independence, and in defence of the territory of the 
state. 

204. The king takes care that sufficient land and naval 
forces, raised by the voluntary enlistment of natives or 
foreigners, be constantly kept on foot, and held ready to 
serve, as well in Europe as elsewhere, according to the 
exigency of circumstances. 

205. Foreign troops cannot be taken into the service of 
the kingdom except with the common consent of the king 
and states-general. The king communicates to the states- 
general, as soon as he conveniently can, the conventions 
which he enters into on this subject. 

206. Independently of the permanent army of sea and 
land, there is kept up a national militia, of which, in times 
of peace, one fifth is annually disbanded. 

207. This militia, to as great an extent as is found prac- 
ticable, is formed by voluntary enlistment in the manner 
prescribed by law. In default of a sufficient number of 



574 CONSTITUTION OP THE 

volunteers, the deficiency is made up by lot. All the un- 
married male inhabitants who, on the first day of January 
in every year, have attained their nineteenth year and have 
not completed their twenty-third, shall be subject to be 
drawn. Those who have received their discharge cannot, 
under any pretext, be again called to any other service than 
that of the communal guard, of which mention will be 
made hereafter. 

208. In ordinary times, the militia are exercised an- 
nually ; the period of training continues about a month ; 
but the king, should the interest of the state require it ? 
may keep one fourth of the militia men embodied. 

209. In case of war, or under other extraordinary circum- 
stances, the king may call out and keep the entire militia 
embodied. If the states-general are not in session at the 
time, he convokes them, communicates to them the state 
of affairs, and deliberates in concert with them on further 
measures. 

21 0. In no case can the militia be employed in the colonies. 

211. The militia cannot pass the frontiers of the king- 
dom without the consent of the states-general, unless in a 
case of imminent danger, or that in changing quarters the 
shortest route lies over a foreign territory. In these two 
cases, the king, the earliest moment he can, makes the states- 
general acquainted with the orders which he has given. 

212. All expenses relative to the armies of the state are 
supported from t|ie public treasury. 

The lodging and maintenance of soldiers, the supplies, 
of what description soever they may be, which are furnished 
the king's troops or fortresses, cannot be raised at the ex- 
pense of one or more individuals, of one or more communes : 
if through unforeseen circumstances such supplies are fur- 
nished by individuals or communes, the state charges itself 
with the same, and an indemnity is paid according to the 
rate fixed by the regulations. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 575 

213. In communes which have a population of 2,500 in- 
habitants and above, there are, as heretofore, communal 
guards, who are employed in the maintenance of the public 
tranquillity. In war, they may be employed in repelling 
the attacks of the enemy. 

In the other communes, there are established communal 
guards, who, inactive in time of peace, form, in war, with 
the guards of the other communes, the levy en masse for the 
defence of the country. 

214. The regulations which the king may conceive ne- 
cessary for determining the organization of the militia, the 
number of militia men, as well as those for the communal 
guards, and the levy en masse, shall form the subject of 
a law. 

Chapter IX. — Of the Direction of Waters, Bridges, and 

Roads. 

Art. 215. The king has the supreme superintendency 
over all hydraulic works, bridges and causeways, without 
distinction, whether the expense be paid by the public trea- 
sury, or in any other manner. 

216. The king causes the general direction of waters, 
bridges and causeways, to be exercised in the manner 
which he thinks the most suitable. 

217. Independently of the superintendency which the 
king may attribute to the general direction over works kept 
up at the expense of colleges, communes, or individuals, 
this direction is charged, according to the instructions 
which the king gives it, with all hydraulic works in sea- 
ports, roads, rivers, schorren, downs, dikes, sluices, and 
other works, as well as with all bridges and roads, of which 
the expenses, either in the whole or part, are chargeable 
on the public treasury. 

218. If,, among the works mentioned in the preceding 
article, any are found of which the direction may be confided 



576 



CONSTITUTION OF THE 



to the provincial states, whether on account of their being 
of less general interest, or for the sake of utility or con- 
venience drawn from the thing itself — this direction, either 
exclusively, or conjointly with the general direction, shall 
be committed to them. 

219. The king, after hearing the states of the province, 
and with the advice of the council of state, determines what 
works shall be placed under the direction of the states, and 
at the same time the means by which the expenses of keep- 
ing them in repair are to be provided for. 

220. When any hydraulic works, dikes, or sluices, des- 
tined to confine the waters of the sea or rivers, are kept 
up at the expense of colleges, communes or individuals, 
and are managed by them, the general direction exercises 
an immediate superintendency over these works, and takes 
care that in their construction or repair no injury be done 
to the general interest. It gives the necessary directions 
to the said colleges, communes or individuals, respecting 
the same. 

The immediate superintendency over these works may 
also, for the sake of utility or convenience, be assigned by 
the king to the provincial states. 

221. The provincial states have a superintendency over all 
the hydraulic works, not comprised in the preceding ar- 
ticle, as well as over the canals, navigations, lakes, waters, 
bridges and roads, which are kept up at the expense of 
colleges, communes or individuals. They take care that 
these works are well and duly constructed, and kept in 
good order. 

222. The states exercise a superintendency over all the 
colleges, called Hoogheemraadschappen, Heemraadschap- 
pen, Wateringen, Water 'schappen, over the direction of 
dikes or poldres, under whatever denomination they may 
exist in the province : saving what is expressed in Art. 220, 
on the powers of the general direction with regard to works 
intended to confine the waters of the sea and rivers. 






KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 577 

The regulations of these colleges, when finally approved 
of, and established as the bases of their institution, may be 
modified, with the king's approbation, by the provincial 
states : the colleges also may propose to the states such 
modifications as the interests of those concerned may appear 
to require. 

The states, in the same manner, lay before the king 
the mode of appointing or proposing to the vacant places 
in the said colleges. 

223. The states have a superintendency over the manage- 
ment of turf or peat grounds, quarries, coal-pits and other 
mines and pits, as well as over all irrigations, embank- 
ments, and drains. The king, for the sake of the general 
or prevailing interest of those concerned, may commit the 
superintendency of the said works to the general direction 
of waters, bridges, and roads. 

224. When any subsidies are hereafter granted from the 
public treasury in aid of any works comprised in the pre- 
sent chapter, it shall be at the same time determined in 
what manner the direction or superintendency of such 
works shall be exercised. 

225. The tolls paid at barriers, bridges, and sluices, are 
appropriated to the maintenance and improvement of the 
roads, bridges, canals, and navigable rivers. The excess, 
if any, is reserved to defray expenses of the same nature in 
the same province, with the single exception of the tolls 
collected on the high roads and means of communication of 
the kingdom, but of which the excess may be employed for 
the same purposes, if so ordered by the king. 

Chapter X. — Of Public Instruction and Charitable 
Institutions. 

Art. 226. The instruction of the public is an object of 

constant solicitude to the government. The king, every 

year, causes an account to be rendered to the states-general 

of the state of the higher, middle, and inferior schools. 
Vol. I, g p 



578 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

227. The press being the most proper means for dif- 
fusing knowledge, every one may make use of the same for 
the communication of his thoughts, without being obliged 
to obtain previous permission. Nevertheless, every author, 
printer, editor, or distributor, is responsible for writings 
which tend to wound the rights of society, or those of an 
individual. 

228. The administrations of benevolence, and the edu- 
cation of the poor, are considered objects no less worthy 
the cares of government; and an annual account of the 
same must be in like manner laid before the states-general. 

Chapter XL — Of Alterations and Additions. 

Art. 229. If experience should prove the necessity of any 
alterations or additions to the fundamental law, such altera- 
tions and additions shall be accurately pointed out in a 
law, which shall at the same time declare such necessity to 
exist. 

230. The law shall be transmitted to the provincial 
states, who shall add to the ordinary members of the 
states-general, within a given period, an equal number of 
extraordinary members, chosen in the same manner as 
the first. 

231. When, in pursuance of Arts. 27, 44, 49, the second 
chamber of the states-general raised to double its usual 
number, is convoked, the election of the additional mem- 
bers is made by the provincial states, who are convoked 
by the functionaries exercising the royal authority. 

232. The second chamber of the states-general cannot 
adopt any resolution on an alteration or addition to the 
fundamental law, unless two-thirds of its members are 
present : the resolutions are adopted by a majority of three- 
fourths. All the forms necessary to be observed in passing 
% law must be strictly observed. 



KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. 579 

233. No change in the fundamental law, or in the order 
of succession, can be made during a regency. 

234. The changes or additions adopted shall be annexed 
to the fundamental law, and solemnly promulgated. 

Articles additional. 

Art. 1. The king is authorized to take the necessary 
measures for carrying into effect, in all its parts, regularly, 
and with such despatch as the state of things shall permit, 
the fundamental law of which the foregoing is a project. 
He shall have the first appointment of all the functionaries 
and of all the colleges, whatever may be the mode of ap- 
pointment adopted by the fundamental law. 

2. All the authorities remain in office, and all the laws 
continue obligatory, until it be otherwise provided for. 

3. The first exit of the members of the second chamber 
of the states-general shall take place on the third Monday 
of the month of October, 1817. 



END OP THE FIRST VOLUME. 



2 P 2 



LONDON : 

Printed by William Clowes, 

Northumberland-court. 



; ' v £ 



